Videogames That Encourage Healthy Behavior Did Not Alter Fasting Insulin or Other Diabetes Risks in Children: Randomized Clinical Trial.

Previous research indicates games for health have substantial promise in promoting change in children's diet and physical activity (PA) behavior for obesity and diabetes prevention, but the research has generally not been rigorous. The study reported here was an efficacy trial of two role-playing videogames played in sequence, "Escape from Diab" (hereinafter called Diab) and "Nanoswarm: Invasion from Inner Space" (hereinafter called Nano), on diabetes and obesity risk factors: fasting insulin and body mass index (BMI), and risk-related behaviors: diet, PA, and sedentary behavior (SB). A two-group (treatment vs.

Mommio's Recipe Box: Assessment of the Cooking Habits of Mothers of Preschoolers and Their Perceptions of Recipes for a Video Game.

Background: Vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet because they help prevent several chronic diseases. Mothers of preschoolers reported difficulty getting their young children to eat vegetables, and many did not know how to cook child-pleasing recipes.

Objective: The cooking habits of mothers of preschoolers, their perceptions of recipes designed for their children, and the involvement of their children in food preparation were assessed to inform a food parenting video game called Mommio.

Story Immersion May Be Effective in Promoting Diet and Physical Activity in Chinese Children.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of playing a health video game embedded with story immersion, Escape from Diab (Diab), on children's diet and physical activity (PA) and to explore whether children immersed in Diab had greater positive outcomes.

Design: Two groups, nonrandomized; 3 outcome assessments: at baseline, immediately after the game (post 1), and 8-10 weeks after the game (post 2).

Participants: A total of 179 Chinese children aged 8-12 years.

The Narrative Impact of Active Video Games on Physical Activity Among Children: A Feasibility Study.

Background: Active video games (AVGs) capable of inducing physical activity offer an innovative approach to combating childhood obesity. Unfortunately, children's AVG game play decreases quickly, underscoring the need to identify novel methods for player engagement. Narratives have been demonstrated to influence behaviors.

An educational video game for nutrition of young people: Theory and design.

Background: Playing (DIAB) and (NANO) epic video game adventures, increased fruit and vegetable consumption among a multi-ethnic sample of 10-12 year old children during pilot testing. Key elements of both games were educational mini-games embedded in the overall game that promoted knowledge acquisition regarding diet, physical activity and energy balance. 95-100% of participants demonstrated mastery of these mini-games suggesting knowledge acquisition.

Assessing Feedback in a Mobile Videogame.

Background: Player feedback is an important part of serious games, although there is no consensus regarding its delivery or optimal content. "Mommio" is a serious game designed to help mothers motivate their preschoolers to eat vegetables. The purpose of this study was to assess optimal format and content of player feedback for use in "Mommio.

Acceptability and Applicability of an American Health Videogame with Story for Childhood Obesity Prevention Among Hong Kong Chinese Children.

Objective: Positive changes in diet have been observed in research carried out in the United States from the use of "Escape from Diab" (Diab), a health videogame designed to lower the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Whether the American story and characters in Diab might be perceived by Hong Kong Chinese children as interesting has not been explored. This study assessed the acceptability and applicability of Diab among Hong Kong Chinese children, whether the Diab story was understood by them, and whether it had potential to influence them both during the game and afterward.

Games for Health for Children-Current Status and Needed Research.

Videogames for health (G4H) offer exciting, innovative, potentially highly effective methods for increasing knowledge, delivering persuasive messages, changing behaviors, and influencing health outcomes. Although early outcome results are promising, additional research is needed to determine the game design and behavior change procedures that best promote G4H effectiveness and to identify and minimize possible adverse effects. Guidelines for ideal use of different types of G4H by children and adolescents should be elucidated to enhance effectiveness and minimize adverse effects.

Training Vegetable Parenting Practices Through a Mobile Game: Iterative Qualitative Alpha Test.

Background: Vegetable consumption protects against chronic diseases, but many young children do not eat vegetables. One quest within the mobile application Mommio was developed to train mothers of preschoolers in effective vegetable parenting practices, or ways to approach getting their child to eat and enjoy vegetables. A much earlier version of the game, then called Kiddio, was alpha tested previously, but the game has since evolved in key ways.

Prose Fiction as a Narrative Companion for a Vegetable Parenting Videogame.

Objective: The purpose of this research is to explore the capacity of story to connect to a health-related videogame, as well as the qualities that may increase efficacy by making the story compelling. Parents of 3-5-year-old children often report difficulty getting their children to eat vegetables, which are protective against chronic illnesses. Videogames may be vehicles for training parenting practices for successful vegetable consumption outcomes but often rely on stories to provide context and details.

Fun, Flow, and Fitness: Opinions for Making More Effective Active Videogames.

Despite active videogames' popularity and ability to increase a player's energy expenditure, research indicates their use sharply declines over time, which limits their utility in promoting physical activity. A frequent criticism is that a player's interest is quickly exhausted. At the preconference of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2014, a group of investigators and videogame developers gathered to share lessons learned from using serious videogames in health behavior change and offer insight to guide future efforts.

Games for Health: An Opinion.

Almost 60 percent of Americans play videogames, which is a significant opportunity for health professionals to reach mass audiences. But although legions of fans spend countless hours playing entertainment games, player interest in health videogames quickly wanes. A good question to ask is, "Why?" A game developer with 20 years of experience offers his perspective on what may be limiting health games' appeal and what can be done about it.

The Brewsters: A new resource for interprofessional ethics education.

Background: One of the barriers to interprofessional ethics education is a lack of resources that actively engage students in reflection on living an ethical professional life. This project implemented and evaluated an innovative resource for interprofessional ethics education.

Objectives: The objective of this project was to create and evaluate an interprofessional learning activity on professionalism, clinical ethics, and research ethics.

Texting to Increase Physical Activity Among Teenagers (TXT Me!): Rationale, Design, and Methods Proposal.

Background: Physical activity decreases from childhood through adulthood. Among youth, teenagers (teens) achieve the lowest levels of physical activity, and high school age youth are particularly at risk of inactivity. Effective methods are needed to increase youth physical activity in a way that can be maintained through adulthood.

Developing Games for Health Behavior Change: Getting Started.

Many investigators are considering developing videogames for health (video-G4Hs) but have questions about how to get started. This report provides guidance for investigators considering a G4H as a behavioral intervention procedure from a team of experienced G4H developers. Thirteen commonly asked questions are answered, including defining a G4H, considerations in developing a team, considerations in G4H design, and anticipating unintended consequences.

Stories in Games for Health: More Pros or Cons?

There has been a debate about whether entertainment videogames should incorporate story or narrative. A concern has been whether story cut scenes break game immersion, and thereby minimize the fun of gameplay. Alternatively, games for health (G4H) have an agenda that goes beyond just having fun.

Butterfly Girls; promoting healthy diet and physical activity to young African American girls online: rationale and design.

Background: Young African American girls have a high risk of obesity. Online behavior change programs promoting healthy diet and physical activity are convenient and may be effective for reducing disparities related to obesity. This report presents the protocol guiding the design and evaluation of a culturally and developmental appropriate online obesity prevention program for young African American girls.

Adapting a Videogame to the Needs of Pediatric Cancer Patients and Survivors.

Objective: This study assessed whether two serious videogames, "Escape from Diab" (Diab) and "Nanoswarm: Invasion from Inner Space" (Nano) (both from Archimage, Inc., Houston, TX) shown to effect change in healthy children's diet and possibly physical activity are acceptable for obesity prevention among pediatric cancer patients and survivors at high risk of obesity.

Patients And Methods: Pediatric (9-12-year-old) cancer patients and survivors (n=28) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Group A, watched film adaptations of both game stories and played the first two episodes of each game; Group B, played all of Diab; or Group C, played all of Nano.

Videogame Mechanics in Games for Health.

Game mechanics have been identified as "methods invoked by agents for interacting with the game world."(1) They are elements of game play that provide a primary source of interactivity and structure how videogames proceed. Many kinds of game mechanics have been generated.

Child Goal Setting of Dietary and Physical Activity in a Serious Videogame.

Objective: To inform child obesity prevention programs, the current article identified what children thought were the most important goals, values, and perceived barriers related to healthy eating and physical activity (PA) within a serious videogame for health, "Escape from Diab" (Archimage Inc., Houston, TX).

Subjects And Methods: One hundred three children, 10-12 years of age, played "Escape from Diab.

Business Models for Successfully Maintaining Games for Health.

Videogames for health provide innovative, exciting, and possibly highly effective new media for helping players change their behaviors or otherwise benefit their health. Getting the right videogames into the hands of players who can benefit most in a way that pays for the continued innovation and creation of such games is a current challenge. Entertainment videogame companies, which create games primarily to enhance players' enjoyment, have used the general business marketplace (e.

Structure of Corrective Feedback for Selection of Ineffective Vegetable Parenting Practices for Use in a Simulation Videogame.

A serious videogame is being developed to train parents of preschool children in selecting and using parenting practices that are likely to encourage their child to eat more vegetables. The structure of feedback to the parents on their selection may influence what they learn from the game. Feedback Intervention Theory provides some guidance on the design of such messages.

Fun and Games and Boredom.

Serious videogames use entertainment to teach, train, or change behavior. What began in the 1970s as tentative attempts to create learning software is now a recognized videogame genre and an emerging health science. Although more research is needed, a growing body of literature suggests serious videogames can be effective.