DDR for life?

[wombat_socho]

Joanne Jacobs links to a USA Today story about a West Virginia study examining whether Dance Dance Revolution can be a useful tool in getting kids to shed weight and improve their health. Check the comments to Jacobs' post; a couple of respondents talk about how they used DDR to change their lives. (!) California schools were already putting the game to work in PE classes, back in 2002 in an attempt to get sedentary kids to exercise.

Makes sense to me. Unlike a lot of other exercise programs, playing DDR gives you immediate positive feedback, and kids respond to the challenge of beating the game and unlocking the extra songs. Considering how expensive diabetes medications are (to say nothing of insulin shots) plunking down a couple of Benjamins for a Game Cube/PS2 and pad seems like a pretty reasonable investment for an insurance or healthcare company.

Comments

DDR

[edminster.livejournal.com]

Closer to my home, Walkersville High School put in a DDR machine a couple of years back. I play the home version, and have lost something around fifty pounds. It is extremely difficult at first, but once you build some eye/foot coordination, the only thing stopping you is the speed you move your feet. The songs are usually very upbeat, and because it spans an incredible number of musical genre(s?), it is appealing to many people. The endorphin rush you get isn't half-bad, either.

Re: DDR

[wombat-socho.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure that's what makes it work for people. Any time you can get them to move around while having a good time, they'll usually do it.