Beating obesity looks like child's play as experts back 'active' game consoles

Published on Monday 16 March 2009 20:58

SCOTTISH health and education experts last night backed calls for interactive video games, such as the Nintendo Wii, to be used as a key weapon in the fight to tackle obesity among children.

Sir Liam Donaldson, the UK government's chief medical officer, yesterday recommended in his annual report that children be given gaming systems as part of a strategy to address sedentary lifestyles.

He said that, although the more traditional video games such as PlayStation can be a major cause of overweight and obesity in children and young adults, interactive multimedia games such as Sony EyeToy and Nintendo Wii Sports can raise the heart rate and increase the number of calories burnt by 42 per cent – offering a way of providing the recommended daily physical activity for children in their homes.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway's specialised obesity clinic already uses the Wii sports package, incorporating tennis, bowling and baseball, in exercise classes for obese adults.

Dr Ewan Bell, an NHS consultant based there, said: "I absolutely would like to see more schemes where gaming systems are used to help tackle obesity this side of the Border. It's dealing with the fact that children are not exercising as much as they used to be."

He added: "The Nintendo Wii is a good opportunity for people who normally are not able to exercise to do just a little bit more than they do at present. Our experience shows that, although the physical benefits might be small, the self-esteem and self-confidence of our patients improves significantly this way."

Excel Sports Academy in Edinburgh runs sports schemes for children during school holidays and also plans to set up "fat camps", where youngsters are sent for intensive bouts of exercise and healthy eating. Monka Foo, the general manager, said: "Programmes like Wii Fit help children struggling with obesity.

"One of the programmes, Wii Family, means you can do anything you like in your living room, which encourages children to share activities with their friends and family. They can have a laugh at the same time because they are in their comfort zone and all the barriers are breaking down.

"We currently use the Wii and other gaming systems for downtime for the older children. They can go into a games room and get rid of more energy playing interactive computer games."

Derek Robertson, a national adviser at the Scottish Centre for Games and Learning, said: "I would be prepared to back calls for serious investigations into how these games can contribute to healthier lifestyles in Scotland."

However, a Scottish Government spokeswoman told The Scotsman that there were no plans at present to follow the recommendations.

She said: "Getting kids active is really important. While we have no plans to give away Wii Fits, we have in place a wide range of initiatives which are getting kids moving.

"Backed by a 12 million investment every year our Active Schools programme is bringing a new wave of activities into our schools and getting kids excited about being active.

"Dance, cheerleading, athletics and hockey are just some of the popular activities and last year, 350,000 activity sessions were delivered in 2,493 state schools across Scotland's 32 local authorities."

Sir Liam has also recommended setting a minimum price of alcohol at 50p per unit – even higher than the 40p per unit that the Scottish Government has hinted that it is considering.

The measure would see 3,393 fewer deaths from alcohol related illnesses every year. It would also mean most bottles of wine could not be sold for less than 4.50. Some alcohol, particularly cheap spirits, would double in price.

SICK NOTES

FORMER miners sued the government in multi-million-pound compensation claims for pit-related illnesses dating back decades.

And legal experts have warned that the apparent link between breast cancer and working nightshift could lead to similar claims from women.

It is estimated that solicitors earned more than 1.3 billion in fees for handling the miners' claims, with one firm alone collecting nearly 124 million.