Fitness Video Games are Keeping Your Child Fat

Summer vacation, which is just around the corner, used to be a time to take in the great outdoors, but increasingly video games have replaced the sandlot and soapbox derby to the chagrin of many parents – especially as child obesity levels rise. The game makers have responded in recent years, introducing numerous so-called “fitness” games. But are these an actual substitute for proper exercise?

In April, the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition teamed up with the Entertainment Software Association to demonstrate “how to use video games to promote physical activity,” with the goal to turn passive TV screens into an active video game screens.