Last month a Baylor Children’s Nutrition Research team led by pediatrician, Tom Baranowski, PhD, published a paper in the journal, Pediatrics, about the effects of naturalistic video game play on the activity level of 78 children ages 9 to 12. The children had an average Body Mass Index (BMI) of 82%, which put them at risk for obesity in adulthood. Participants were given Nintendo Wii consoles and could play games of their choice from a selection of five.  Half were offered active video games (or what some call, “exergames“) and half were given inactive games to play at their leisure at home for 12 weeks.  The games were new to the children and they were given a second similar game half way through the study.

During 5 of the weeks, the children wore accelerometers to measure activity. An assessment of neighborhood safety was also measured to determine if additional indoor or outdoor play may have bearing on the results, which it did not.

Study results showed no difference in activity level between the two groups, even though laboratory controlled studies in the past had shown noticeable differences. Many of the children played a mix of active/inactive games during the study period, but most play was within their assigned genre. While these findings are at first glance disappointing to health professionals recommending active video game play (and to the game designers creating active games), the study points out that more pieces of the puzzle are in need of answers. For example, it was difficult to know what other activities the children were involved, their activity intensity, and their engagement.

It is possible that a different scenario, say where active video games are used as a tool by a health coach to ensure optimum benefit, would be beneficial. Even with adults, merely putting an exercise bike in the master bedroom does not guarantee use. So while the study’s results are interesting, it might be that active video games highest and best use are as a part of applied therapy with closely controlled monitoring. However, I have no plans to give up my Wii active games anytime soon. I’m having too much fun!

You know you must be doing something interesting when you are invited to the White House. That mark of distinction for about thirty invited video game researchers, designers and developers was a February 1st White House summit on “Innovations in Games — Better Health and Healthcare.” Richard Buday FAIA represented Archimage and Playnormous. The group met with key government officials from the White House, National Institutes of Health, National Coordinator for Health IT, Centers for Disease Control, and the department of Health and Human Services. The half-day meeting focused on opportunities for serious video games to engage Americans in improving their health.

Brainstorming included the kinds of technology that could best present health information through immersion. For example, simulations are already being used to give healthcare professionals time and space to practice skills before actually treating patients. The military has been using training video games and simulators for years. Just imagine what role-playing environments could do for improving the public’s health behaviors …

Groupthink ranged from advanced technologies to consumer video game consoles. Smart phones, which make great game platforms because they are ubiquitous, powerful and can easily take advantage of social media connections, were also discussed.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and The Institute for the Future are collaborating on drafting the summary of the summit roundtable. Look for it soon at www.iftf.org. You can read more about the White House’s exploration into possible roles of serious video games here.

Have you taken the challenge yet?  “What challenge?”, you ask. The Health 2.0 Developer Challenge or those on Challenge Post. These sites take advantage of the recent US initiative to make health databases available to the public.

Since 2010, both sites have hosted challenges sponsored by organizations, corporations, and the government. Some have monetary prizes, some just offer recognition. The goal is to bring software programmers, designers, and health care experts  together for rapid application development. There are two types of developer projects: 1) challenges, which overseas team collaboration to build specific requested tech solutions, and 2) code-a-thons.  Code-a-thons are typically one day or weekend events that spur teams to rapidly create new applications and tools to improve health care.

Health 2.0 and Challenge Post make it easy to form teams with their community boards and resources. Check out the wide array of challenges posted on their sites. Compare goals, deadlines and prizes. Make new contacts, enjoy the thrill of creativity, and the pride of helping find real solutions to health care issues. Several have December 31, 2011 deadlines, so check out the fun and competition, and register today!

http://www.Health2Challenge.org
http://www.Challenge.gov

containers that ring, play music and send emails to remind people to take sixteen different medications when loaded only once in two or three months. Another medication lid glows when it is time to take a pill and then records the time the bottle is opened and the pill was taken.

Multiple pedometers and sensors track steps, galvanic skin response, brain waves, and pulse and are easily synched with smartphone apps that forward reports to your doctor.  Sensors can be placed in carpets, slippers, kitchen drawers and refrigerators to track movement of elders living alone. Reports can be sent to specified caregivers. One sensor tracks sleep patterns when placed in an arm band and then placed under your smartphone in the morning to sync and download and email the report. Airstrip Tech links doctors with EMTs in ambulances to follow monitors as the patient travels to the hospital. Two 5 minute Rapid Fire product demo sessions reviewed over 25 new products.

Several websites help patients track their medical information. Patients determine what they want to share and with whom.  Some are open source; some are created by private companies. Patient groups like ePatient Dave and Patients Like Me encourage sharing collective medical information to foster a faster learning curve to how to best treat patients and diseases in the US and abroad.

I had the distinct honor of speaking on a panel about game play.
My expertise comes from creating and consulting on multiple smartphone apps related to food and nutrition. Gamification was a hot topic in multiple sessions, mentioned frequently as a terrific means to engage and educate patients. Interesting to me was the fact that some telemedicine products and apps already include game play. This is mostly in the form of Q&A or true/false questions. To celebrate Breast Cancer Month in October, a colleague, Nadine Fisher, MS RD LD, and I created the Apple app Breast Cancer Care. We included five true/false games and one food photo match game.

Many of the products I saw at Connected Health are first generation this year.  One company rep said there were only a handful of tech vendors exhibiting last year. This year there were five exhibitor rows lining a hotel ballroom.  This business is exploding. I have seen the future of medicine, and it is exciting and often fun. Games are a great hope to advance the health of the world for patients, caregivers, and professionals.

Here’s a link to a blog post about the panel on which I spoke. I was the only RD on the program.

http://mobihealthnews.com/13977/add-health-to-games-or-games-to-health

Games for Health Project originated in the United States in 2004.

Ben Sawyer was instrumental in its foundation and development into the force that it is today.  It’s annual meeting draws hundreds of global participants each year in Boston.

So it was exciting news this year when Games for Health announced a  European partner. It’s first meeting will be held in Amsterdam on October 24 and 25.  The central theme is: How games and simulations can improve health(care) and make it affordable. The program is dynamic includes topics on five core tracks:

Cognitive and emotional health
Participatory health
Exergaming, active gaming and fitness
Rehabilitation games
Medical/Education and training

So if you are looking for an excuse to visit Amsterdam, the Games for Health Europe conference is a must do.  It will be exciting to watch this innovative group develop and deliver fresh ideas and research on health games for the European health community.

Register today!
www.GamesforHealthEurope.org

Nick Yee, PhD, a research scientist at the PARC (the Palo Alto Research Center) has published studies that show how people’s behaviors change when they use avatars. One study notes how players engage when offered tall, attractive avatars, versus shorter, less attractive ones. He suggests that people will exercise longer and better when offered fit looking avatars.

James Watt, PhD is a serious games researcher at the University of Connecticut. He explains that social interaction is relative to masked identity. Group communication is best when there is also social interaction. So how about creating an avatar-likeness with body movements that still provides anonymity? Microsoft Xbox recently released Avatar Kinect that scans participants and then creates a general look-alike avatar of themselves – including body movements.

Players might not mind sharing personal attributes with friends, but would players feel comfortable revealing their size, hair color, and mannerisms to strangers, too? This remains to be seen, as medical professionals brainstorm about health applications. Consider in-home avatar group therapy sessions, patient education classes, addiction support groups, or parent clubs. Now layer on a health gaming twist. How about a virtually engaging game of Nutrition Jeopardy? The possibilities are tremendous! What kind of avatar health games do you envision? This field is wide-open for development. Game on!