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Is technology to blame, or could it have some answers?

Tash Lee, Futurelab

As a nation, we are continually warned of the public health timebomb that awaits us if we continue to stuff our bodies full of rubbish and then fail to do any exercise, but the message is taking a while to get through. The percentage of obese children in the UK is rising rapidly and shows little signs of abating. Aside from bad diets, the blame is apportioned to many of the aspects of our contemporary technology-enhanced society - sedentary, couch-potato lifestyles, too much TV, video games, computers, and a reliance on the car. Ultimately, people are not moving enough.

Got to keep moving

Physical inaction not only contributes to obesity, it also brings with it the risk of serious ill health in adulthood such as coronary heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. The annual costs to the economy of physical inactivity, are estimated at £8.2 billion in England. The Chief Medical Officer tells us that "Being active is no longer simply an option - it is essential if we are to live healthy and fulfilling lives into old age"[1].

One of the biggest issues is that modern life affords few opportunities to young people to be active. In many primary schools there is often a lack of space, equipment and specialist PE teachers; most lessons still see children sat trapped in a chair behind a desk. PE has been marginalised in the curriculum, with over a third of 6-8 year-olds doing less than an hour a week[2]. Playing fields have been sold off, and playground games banned. Outside of school, far fewer children walk to school and parents' perceptions of the risks outside the home have severely restrained children's activities (O'Brien et al 2000). 'Just go outside and play' is often no longer a viable option.

Rather than being to blame for the current state of affairs, could technology be something that we can utilise to change attitudes and behaviours towards physical activity? This article explores recent trends/projects that are experimenting with new technologies and new practices to promote and support physical action or increase the opportunities to be active.

That's exertainment

Video game playing has long been considered a sedentary pastime; however games are now fighting back against the accusations levelled at them. An ever increasing number of games are engaging players in physical activity - in the form of dance, martial arts moves, golf swings etc - as an integral part of the gameplay. Popular examples include Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and EyeToy Play (see links at end of article).

This trend of 'exertainment' (or 'exergaming'), as it has been nicknamed, has been identified by many as a powerful new tool in the fight against paediatric inactivity and obesity. Backed by 'exertainment evangelist' Dr Ernie Medina, and after a successful pilot project, the school district of Redlands in California is planning on installing exertainment zones in all of its elementary schools; the plan is that DDR will replace some of the baseball on the current curriculum. Unsurprisingly, there has been some controversy; however, despite the criticisms against their use - especially in schools - exergames have produced countless success stories[3], especially amongst those young people who are completely turned off by traditional sports and PE. In the UK, Groby Community College in Leicestershire introduced DDR to its Year 10/11 girls to encourage them to be more active - now the game has spread school-wide with pupils choosing to play at lunchtimes and after school. Not only are these games motivating, accessible and popular amongst young people, there is growing evidence to suggest that exergames help people to stay fit and manage their weight (Lieberman 2006). As Medina attests, "Exertainment allows [young people] to stay in the medium that they already have [.], that they feel good about, that they can do safely in their own homes with their own friends, and at the same time, get a great physical workout!"

A new physical education

At a middle school in Boston, they're strapping heart monitors, accelerometers and pedometers to students to measure how hard their bodies are working in PE lessons. Data is adjusted according to age, weight and current fitness levels. Progress is tracked and grades awarded dependent on personal improvement, not in comparison to classmates. The idea of this 'new physical education' as it is frequently called, is to teach the science of fitness and to promote levels of activity throughout life, not just in PE lessons.

In Minnesota, obesity researcher Dr Levine has taken an entirely different approach to getting young people to be more active throughout the entire day, not just as part of formalised exercise or PE lessons. Based on his theory of NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) - energy expenditure due to the daily activities of everyday living - he has created the fidgety and fit 'Classroom of the Future'.

In a radical redesign, all of the desks have been replaced with adjustable podiums. Instead of chairs, children stand, kneel or sit on big exercise balls while they work and they are actively encouraged to move about the space. To measure every last movement, students are adorned with sensors and Levine will compare the amount of calories used up by students in comparison to those in a more traditional, static classroom. Technology is an important feature and each child is issued with an iPod and laptop, which are wirelessly connected to the network. While these convenience technologies are often criticised for being the cause of children's sedentary behaviour, Levine argues that this doesn't have to be the case. The portability of such devices means that classrooms can be redesigned "so children and machines can move and, in fact, keep moving". Early data analysis is showing both an increase in energy consumption and higher levels of focused work in the new classroom.

A Fizzee for life, not just for Christmas

One of Futurelab's current prototype projects, 'Fizzees' (Physical Electronic Energisers), enables young people to care for a 'digital pet' (or Fizzee) through their own physical actions. Activity levels are measured through a heart monitor and accelerometer, which have a direct impact on the Fizzee displayed on a wrist-worn device. In order to nurture their digital pet, keep it healthy and grow, young people must themselves act in physically healthy ways. The project's aim is to see whether in keeping the Fizzee fit and well children will build activity into their everyday lives.

Of course it goes without saying, technology alone will not bring about significant societal change and exergames do not have all of the answers to our obesity problems. However, it is time to consider further utilising the technologies we have available to us now in order to change our environments and lifestyles to ones that are more active.

Exergames may well have a role to play in providing another way for young people to get moving, but perhaps a more significant glimpse to a more active future is Levine's fidgety classroom. Activity and exercise are so fundamental to both individual and societal long-term health that activity should receive much higher value in our schools. New, mobile technologies mean that learning spaces can be flexible and fluid. There is no longer any need to be stuck static at a desk. We really need to start thinking about utilising the technologies effectively to enable young people to move around and participate rather than to sit still and consume.

Links

www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/04/17/
taking_the_pulse_of_gym_class/
minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/03/14/futureclassroom
mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/staff/levine_ja.cfm
www.ddrfreak.com
www.eyetoy.com
www.ddr4health.com/news.php
exertainment.blogspot.com/2005/06/since-our-article-on-redlands-ca.html
www.futurelab.org.uk/projects/fizzees
www.gamesforhealth.org/index2.html

References

1. At Least Five a Week. Evidence on the impact of physical activity and its relationship to health (2004). A report from the Chief Medical Officer.
2. Sport England (1999). Delivering Best Value Through Sport.
3. www.getupmove.com/weightloss.asp

Bibliography

Department of Health (2004). At Least Five a Week. Evidence on the impact of physical activity and its relationship to health. A report from the Chief Medical Officer

Debra A Lieberman (2006). Dance Games and Other Exergames: What the Research Says. University of California, Santa Barbara. www.comm.ucsb.edu/lieberman_flash.htm

O'Brien M, Rustin M, Jones D and Sloan D (2000). Children's independent spatial mobility in the urban public realm. Childhood, 7: 257-277

Sport England (1999). Delivering Best Value Through Sport