7-3-09: Check this out! A cool looking accelerometer that you can wear in various places on your body. Very cool!
Now if we can get it to interface with a videogame...or Summer's healthy virtual world (My PowerPals)...yeah!!!
Ernie
http://blog.fitbit.com/?p=89
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Latest obesity stats...and how exergaming can help!
7-2-09: Yesterday, the sixth annual edition of F as in Fat: How Obesity Rates Are Failing in America 2009 was published by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation and it doesn't look good. Check it out for yourself at this URL:
http://www.rwjf.org/childhoodobesity/product.jsp?id=45050
I believe that this is a prime opportunity for exergaming to help all those kids in Mississippi! We can get them playing and moving again. Imagine if Oprah sponsored a large exergaming tournament in her homestate....with scholarships for the winners. Think of the buzz it would create!
All it would take is some major bucks and a marketing firm to kick this off. I bet that if this were done, and done right, Mississippi could cede the #1 ranking to another state.
Oprah, have your people call my people and let's save the kids of Mississippi!
http://www.rwjf.org/childhoodobesity/product.jsp?id=45050
I believe that this is a prime opportunity for exergaming to help all those kids in Mississippi! We can get them playing and moving again. Imagine if Oprah sponsored a large exergaming tournament in her homestate....with scholarships for the winners. Think of the buzz it would create!
All it would take is some major bucks and a marketing firm to kick this off. I bet that if this were done, and done right, Mississippi could cede the #1 ranking to another state.
Oprah, have your people call my people and let's save the kids of Mississippi!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Your Shape: Ubisoft Fitness Game via Motion Sensing Camera (Wii)
Check out this report by Dr. Steven Yang on Ubisoft's new workout game with a motion camera!!!
Exergame Lab @ SUNY Cortland: Your Shape: Ubisoft Fitness Game via Motion Sensing Camera (Wii)
Exergame Lab @ SUNY Cortland: Your Shape: Ubisoft Fitness Game via Motion Sensing Camera (Wii)
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
My first workout on EA Sports Active....
5-19-09: Having just completed my first workout on the EA Sports Active that came out this AM, it's too early for me to rate the game on the whole, but I do have some initial observations....
While there were some components on it that were fun, like the kickboxing and punching section, running in place around a track was not that fun. Running around a track in real life is just as boring in the virtual world as well!
Now if they had me running thru a minefield, or avoiding things, or trying to get things, whatever--if it actually was a GAME, then running in place in my living room might actually be fun.
But my sense is that all the various workout "games", starting with Yourself Fitness, doesn't seem to really make it fun just because it's a workout in a virtual setting and I can choose the look of my avatar and the virtual trainer can give me compliments like, "You're poetry in motion."
I hope that these workout games, with their celebs promoting them, aren't just a new version of their DVD workouts that is totally not interactive. Being interactive does not automatically mean it's fun.
So if we're designing games for health to reach those folks who find running around a track boring, I think these game companies will have to really think outside of the box and come up with truly FUN and interactive games to reach the sedentary masses.
Maybe I'm being a bit too rough after just the 1st day of working out on it, so I'll stick out the 30 day challenge I entered and see how it grows on me. Stay tuned!
BTW, if you're in FB, I'm posting updates on this workout on my "Dr. Medina's We Wii Against Diabesity" group, so feel free to join us in there!
While there were some components on it that were fun, like the kickboxing and punching section, running in place around a track was not that fun. Running around a track in real life is just as boring in the virtual world as well!
Now if they had me running thru a minefield, or avoiding things, or trying to get things, whatever--if it actually was a GAME, then running in place in my living room might actually be fun.
But my sense is that all the various workout "games", starting with Yourself Fitness, doesn't seem to really make it fun just because it's a workout in a virtual setting and I can choose the look of my avatar and the virtual trainer can give me compliments like, "You're poetry in motion."
I hope that these workout games, with their celebs promoting them, aren't just a new version of their DVD workouts that is totally not interactive. Being interactive does not automatically mean it's fun.
So if we're designing games for health to reach those folks who find running around a track boring, I think these game companies will have to really think outside of the box and come up with truly FUN and interactive games to reach the sedentary masses.
Maybe I'm being a bit too rough after just the 1st day of working out on it, so I'll stick out the 30 day challenge I entered and see how it grows on me. Stay tuned!
BTW, if you're in FB, I'm posting updates on this workout on my "Dr. Medina's We Wii Against Diabesity" group, so feel free to join us in there!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Games for Health Conf. just around the corner!
5-12-09: Greetings Exergaming Evangelists!
I am writing to let you know that the 5th Annual Games for Health
Conference is taking place June 11 and 12, 2009 in Boston,
Massachusetts. I am attending the event myself and the organizers
asked me to pass along basic notice of the event to people I felt
might be interested.
Games for Health is a conference which explores how videogames and
videogame technologies can help with health & healthcare.
Registration for this event is now open at:
http://www.regonline.com/gfh2009
15% OFF DISCOUNT CODE: dmgfh09
(enter this during registration for 15% off our current price)
This will be the events biggest content offering yet. Over 55 session
summaries are already available to browse online and more is to follow.
On June 10 the conference hosts its second set of pre-conference
events which includes Games Accessibility Day and Virtual Worlds and
Health.
Full details on the conference including travel and lodging
information are available directly at:
http://www.gamesforhealth.org
The Games for Health 2009 conference will be hosted in partnership
with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, which has
served as a major sponsor of the conference since 2004. The Pioneer
Portfolio supports innovative ideas that may lead to significant
breakthroughs in the future of health and health care, providing Games
for Health with the opportunity to become the leading professional
community in the growing health games industry.
ps. Here are some other useful links:
Games for Health Schedule (June 11-12)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p9ekyWGoKP7oLryMizeugTw
Games Accessibility Day (June 10 Pre-Conference)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p9ekyWGoKP7oJbqar0v4zAg
Video from Last Year's Event
http://www.gamesforhealth.org/video-2009.html
I am writing to let you know that the 5th Annual Games for Health
Conference is taking place June 11 and 12, 2009 in Boston,
Massachusetts. I am attending the event myself and the organizers
asked me to pass along basic notice of the event to people I felt
might be interested.
Games for Health is a conference which explores how videogames and
videogame technologies can help with health & healthcare.
Registration for this event is now open at:
http://www.regonline.com/gfh2009
15% OFF DISCOUNT CODE: dmgfh09
(enter this during registration for 15% off our current price)
This will be the events biggest content offering yet. Over 55 session
summaries are already available to browse online and more is to follow.
On June 10 the conference hosts its second set of pre-conference
events which includes Games Accessibility Day and Virtual Worlds and
Health.
Full details on the conference including travel and lodging
information are available directly at:
http://www.gamesforhealth.org
The Games for Health 2009 conference will be hosted in partnership
with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, which has
served as a major sponsor of the conference since 2004. The Pioneer
Portfolio supports innovative ideas that may lead to significant
breakthroughs in the future of health and health care, providing Games
for Health with the opportunity to become the leading professional
community in the growing health games industry.
ps. Here are some other useful links:
Games for Health Schedule (June 11-12)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p9ekyWGoKP7oLryMizeugTw
Games Accessibility Day (June 10 Pre-Conference)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p9ekyWGoKP7oJbqar0v4zAg
Video from Last Year's Event
http://www.gamesforhealth.org/video-2009.html
Friday, March 13, 2009
Here we go again!
3-12-09: My first post for 2009! It's been a busy first couple of months in 2009, but I'm finally posting something here that's worth posting! We just finished up our Healthy People Conference: Lifestyle Medicine for Obesity and Diabetes, here at Loma Linda University.
Bryan Haddock and I presented a session on exergaming. He presented the latest research as well as the research that we have done together, while I presented what it is, how it can increase PA, how it is used in healthcare, research opps., and how the attendees could start incorporating it in their practice or facility.
There were a lot of SPH grad students there as well, so I tried to plant seeds to encourage them to consider doing their research in this area. We'll see if it worked!
I also had a chance to hear Dr. Toni Yancey, of UCLA. I always enjoy her presentations (we get to do some physical activity!) and we see each other a lot at various conferences around the country. Last saw her at the APHA conf. in San Diego last Oct. We're hoping to collaborate on some exergaming work with the LA youth that she does so much for, so stay tuned!
Also got to meet in person Dr. David Katz, the lead developer of the ONQI system, a rating system for food. It will be marketed on food and store shelves as NuVal, and he has come up with some game ideas to utilize it, so I'm helping to see what can be done in this area.
It was great to see so many former classmates from my grad school days, and many of them are interested in learning more about how to incorporate exergaming and games for health in their work.
All in all, a great time networking and getting the world of exergaming out to this group of healthcare professionals!
Bryan Haddock and I presented a session on exergaming. He presented the latest research as well as the research that we have done together, while I presented what it is, how it can increase PA, how it is used in healthcare, research opps., and how the attendees could start incorporating it in their practice or facility.
There were a lot of SPH grad students there as well, so I tried to plant seeds to encourage them to consider doing their research in this area. We'll see if it worked!
I also had a chance to hear Dr. Toni Yancey, of UCLA. I always enjoy her presentations (we get to do some physical activity!) and we see each other a lot at various conferences around the country. Last saw her at the APHA conf. in San Diego last Oct. We're hoping to collaborate on some exergaming work with the LA youth that she does so much for, so stay tuned!
Also got to meet in person Dr. David Katz, the lead developer of the ONQI system, a rating system for food. It will be marketed on food and store shelves as NuVal, and he has come up with some game ideas to utilize it, so I'm helping to see what can be done in this area.
It was great to see so many former classmates from my grad school days, and many of them are interested in learning more about how to incorporate exergaming and games for health in their work.
All in all, a great time networking and getting the world of exergaming out to this group of healthcare professionals!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
LA's Exergaming Evangelists!
12-15-08: No, I'm not talking about the city, LA, I'm talking about the STATE, Louisiana! Had 3 nurse practitioner students from Loyola Univ. in New Orleans, fly out for a day of brainstorming on exergaming research and to tour the Zone.
Imagine, they flew all the way out just to talk in person! They are really gung ho about this, and that is why they have earned the title, "The 3 Louisiana Exergaming Evangelists"!
They presented their powerpoint they gave for a class, and I must say, in just a short time, they have vaulted right up there with the rest of us in their thinking about this field. I look forward to future collaboration and research from these 3 newest Exergaming Evangelists
Here are the first 3 Louisiana Exergaming Evangelists (L-R): Tiffany, Amy (my initial contact), and Melissa. We welcome these 3 nurse practitioners into our exergaming family!
Imagine, they flew all the way out just to talk in person! They are really gung ho about this, and that is why they have earned the title, "The 3 Louisiana Exergaming Evangelists"!
They presented their powerpoint they gave for a class, and I must say, in just a short time, they have vaulted right up there with the rest of us in their thinking about this field. I look forward to future collaboration and research from these 3 newest Exergaming Evangelists
Here are the first 3 Louisiana Exergaming Evangelists (L-R): Tiffany, Amy (my initial contact), and Melissa. We welcome these 3 nurse practitioners into our exergaming family!
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