PARENTS!
Does your 10-12 year old CHILD
LOVE to play VIDEO GAMES?
WE ARE LOOKING FOR KIDS TO:
PLAY 2 HEALTH VIDEO GAMES
over 6 MONTHS and:
•
Attend 3 visits
•
Provide 3 fasting blood
samples
•
Must have a home computer
with Microsoft Windows and
Internet access
COMPENSATION provided.
COOL!
To join the G4H Study visit:
www.G4Hstudy.org/s3/Eligibility
or call Courtney at 832.786.0763
Videogames: Good or Bad?
Video games are a major entertainment medium. In the US, more consumer dollars are spent on video games than on Hollywood
cinema. Video games can be engaging and immersive, with stories, animations, and interactivity. Despite many parents’ fears
and concerns, most children love playing some form of video games. Video games’ widespread popularity and engaging
nature have led a number of health institutions and scientists to wonder whether we could use the many entertainment type
attractions of video games to promote, for example, healthy lifestyles among children and their families. Research is needed
to answer such a question. To do this, we need a) a game that addresses children’s eating and physical activity habits, b)
families who can benefit from playing the game, c) ways to measure whether playing the game improves children’s health,
and d) random assignment to play the game or not. Random assignment is like flipping a coin or throwing a die: pure chance
determines the results. Random assignment works to equalize all other possible influences on the results of the study, leaving
just an answer to the question “does playing the game change children’s behavior, or not.”
Baylor College of Medicine’s Children’s Nutrition Research Center has developed such a game and is testing if children playing
the game will improve their health. By participating, children and their families are helping scientists find ways to help children
and their families everywhere develop healthier lifestyles for a more productive life.
Sincerely,
Tom Baranowski, PhD
Editor-in-Chief, Games for Health Journal
Professor of Pediatrics (Behavioral Nutrition & Physical Activity)
USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center
Department of Pediatrics
Baylor College of Medicine
[email protected]
PERFECTLY MIXED, PERFECTLY MATCHED
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