Obesity Discussion Forums

[Obesity Discussion]

Dance Dance Revolution to fight obesity? No, that's the Gym's job.


Kids these days are packing on pounds at a record rate. Childhood obesity has been all over the news, of course, and inevitably politicians have gotten into the act.
One state’s approach to this problem is the most preposterous thing I have ever heard. Thirty to 34 percent of West Virginia’s children are obese, according to the CDC. The state is attacking the problem with a video game, Dance Dance Revolution, and plans to put the game in every one of its public schools. I’m not making this up. A news report in USA Today said officials would “incorporate the dance-pad-based video game into curriculum over the next two years.”
This is the same state that just re-elected its 88-year-old U.S. senator to another six-year term. So anyway, they claim this game will make kids skinny. I know something about that game. My kids bought it a couple years ago. The game plays music, and to get a high score you have to jump around and land on various spots on a plastic sheet. For about a month bad music blared from our basement while the lamps rattled upstairs. So I have credibility when I declare to the free world this tidbit: It doesn’t make kids skinny. It makes them hyperactive. And even more addicted to video games, which sends the bathroom scales even higher.
So all of this prompted a question. It’s a simple question maybe someone could answer for me. Whatever happened to gym class? Used to be, every student went to math, history, English and then gym. You changed into shorts that doubled as Speedos and ran around in a 50-degree gym. And played games long since banned by pencil-necked administrators. And back then, no one, absolutely no one, was fat.
Maybe they don’t have any gym teachers anymore, I don’t know. Harrison Junior High, circa 1972, had a gym teacher, let me tell you. He never wore a shirt, and had more chest hair than Austin Powers. He had polyester “coach’s shorts” with a double snap waist band that fit snugly around the back side. He invented bracket creep years before the IRS coined the phrase. And I’m also certain he had a thing going with the female gym teacher. And he had no use for one student. Me.
Ask anyone at Harrison Junior High, Great Bend, circa 1972 — our gym teacher had favorites and I was not on his list. He loved jocks. I could have been a jock but that would require that I need to reach puberty before the age of 19. In choir I sang alto and never saw a pimple until my freshman year at KU. When that one zit arrived I drowned it with Clearasil. It never returned.
Back then I was elbows and teeth. Pumping iron wasn’t on my checklist. Getting the heck out of junior high school was, however. But don’t confuse me with Napoleon Dynamite. I was cool. I wore Converse high tops and had a long collection of zingers, one liners and lots of friends not named Pedro.
So any rate, that was the year of the Winter Olympics. Gym teacher guy discovered the parallel bars. To execute the parallel bars required many things. Like muscles. One by one we had to “perform.” You had to jump up to the bars and try to hold a pose, which meant holding your legs at a right angle to your chest. After about two seconds, my arms quivered like a baby robin’s legs perched on the edge of the nest. Then came violent shakes, and then I fell. The guys with beards at age 9 who are now bald with 20 grandchildren won various “medals” in gym that year. But no one was fat.
I suspect my dad heard me tell these stories over dinner way back when and probably said something like, “That’s great. Builds character.” I know one thing it didn’t build. Muscles.

Childhood Obesity

[bulletproof]

I am appalled that they would put this in schools, i think it's inappropriate and irresponsible, because its basically letting parents AND the school off the hook. healthy children start at home.

Very few kids were fat even when i had gym class, and that wasn't that long ago really. I was in middle school in the early 90s and i can only think of 2 fat kids, and everyone knew they were fat and ate bologna sandwiches and cheetos. My dad forced me to eat tuna on wheat with carrot sticks and jello.

my weight only got out of control when i started becoming responsible for feeding myself.

I took my nephew to school not too long ago, he's 10 now, and he's definitely obese. what was terrifying though, was that there were seemingly just as many overweight kids as there were "skinny ones". my sister has been terrible about feeding her kids properly until now. because i said something. i told her that she needed to think about how our parents raised us, and how hard its been for us now that we're in our 20s and 30s to keep the weight off when we have always been athletic...how much HARDER it will be for her lazy overweight kids.

in the same breath though, I actually have a friend who has lost 57lbs so far because of DDR. but he's also an adult and did it upon his own volition.

the moral of the story is....schools should have dance classes for kids that dont wanna take gym. NOT give them dance dance revolution.

[Michael]

Schools are out of control these days, because they are now controlled by the government. I would tell them my children will not be attending any such classes. They are there to learn, not play video games.

[2jane]

While it does count as cardio exercise (there is even a calorie counting mode on the game that adjusts to your weight), Gym classes should definitely be teaching children how to lead healthy lives, telling them to exercise every week, teaching them stretches, etc...
If you're NOT taking a class however, I can definitely vouch for this game. The year or so when I had access to it, I felt wonderful and used it for at least an hour each time, on standard/expert difficulty. While it is a fun way to get your cardio exercise, its not really teaching kids to be healthy.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Michael

Schools are out of control these days, because they are now controlled by the government. I would tell them my children will not be attending any such classes. They are there to learn, not play video games.

I don't look at it as such a bad thing as long as it's not in lieu of normal classes...just an alternative to PE maybe. Many kids don't give much of an effort at physical activities, and this seems to be a way to get kids to enjoy being physically active. While I agree kids are at school to learn, I strongly believe one of the big reasons for the increase in childhood obesity is the decrease in recess time and funding for programs where kids are encouraged to be active (intramural sports, etc).

[Kristy2078]

There's only so much one can do in PE; it's best to offer all options. Typical sports done in PE have their own limits. Take baseball for example. Kids stand around at their spots, and they are active for a short time while chasing a ball, catching, pitching, running to the base, etc. Some sports have a limited number of positions. You can bet there's just 4 or 6 kids on each side of the volleyball net. Soccer isn't too bad, but some kids stand around because they don't have a chance at maiming the ball.

It's not just PE that gets kids active. It's also the extracurricular or community sports programs. Parents need to think about these as additional options on top of PE. And, parents also need to get their own kids involved in physical activity. Don't blame it all on the schools.

It's also not the lack of PE that makes kids fat. I was pretty active on the sports level as a kid and walked around town and had a busy diner job as a busser and dish washer, and I still got fat.

[monique]

I have to agree that blaming school activities is oversimplifying, I was chubby in school and always very active, and I know my dad and his brothers were also chubby as kids so this "kids never used to be fat" thing really gets on my nerves! I biked to school had PE and ran around at recess, biked home, was on swimteam and on the weekends biked for miles and miles. Some kids are just chubby, most grow out of it, but some of us get so ridiculed we start to think of ourselves as "the fat kid" and give up on ever looking fit. I never had junk food in my lunch, we weren't even allowed to have Honey Nut Cheerios at home unless we cut them half and half with regular Cheerios! A video game that involves aerobics is a good thing, but not a replacement for other exercise, and even exercise and diet do not prevent people from coming in all shapes and sizes!

~Monique

[Martintn]

DDR is amazing. I don't know about making it streamline in schools, but just it being there isn't a bad thing at all. It's a fun way to get a little bit of exercise. I don't know if anybody here is interested, but what I did when I was younger and in shape was ordered metal DDR mats from Ebay, got a program on my computer called Stepmania, streamed my computer onto a big projector screen, and had big parties with it. ( we used to do it back in the day at our LAN parties) Stepmania basically is a user made ddr type program that has pretty much every song you could think of, so it works out good for everybody. DDR may not replace good old fashioned exercise, but trust me if you get hooked on it you will go until you can barely stand up anymore and collapse from exhaustion.

[SheaGrl]

That would be a great activity for kids to do doing lunch or recess

[MichaelB]

DDR has worked well for me. 91 pounds down in four months.

It's not that I'm too cheap to join a gym, I'm simply realistic enough to know that I wouldn't *GO* even if I'd paid for a membership. I like DDR because I can do it in the privacy of my own home, on my schedule (and I have a weird schedule), and when I feel like doing it.

The biggest appeal to me is that it doesn't FEEL like exercise -- it's just good fun and enjoyable. I actually throw dinner parties and invite friends over to eat a meal and then do DDR (i.e. help me work out). It's a lot of fun.

BTW - Thanks, SheaGrl, for bumping this thread. I'd thought about starting a thread about DDR and consolidating all of the little DDR comments, tips, and tidbits I've posted in the last few days. I may still do that in this thread.

Also, for what it's worth, I don't see a problem with having DDR in the classroom. Kids are going to play video games regardless, might as well get them hooked on something that'll keep them active and healthy. I would say that it'd be good to make sure that they're doing a mix of traditional acitivities as well as the DDR, as the upper body doesn't get as much of a workout from DDR and StepMania. It focuses more on the core muscles (for balance) and lower body strength.

[Fluffymomma]

Hmm, I have read about DDR and I might actually LIKE that one. I thought I would like Wii Fit too..which I need to just get off my duff and do it.

I think DDR would be good in the schools. It's a good activity and the kids really like it. Would be a great alternative when it's raining during school hours too.