Mckinney Courier-gazette > News Healthy re-Quest: Study looks to
address childhood obesity with video game File photo - Burks
Elementary third-grader Reece goes over his answers to The
Cooper Institute's NutriGram assessment in May 2011. McKinney
ISD's Finch Elementary is one of six Texas schools now
participating in a study that will examine how a health-oriented
video game could help children improve their nutrition. The
"quest" against childhood obesity has gone electronic, at least
in Texas. Selective gaming may lead to better nutrition for
elementary students, according to The Cooper Institute and The
Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, which this week
launched a study that will use a video game to help children
understand how to optimize their health via 3-D avatars and
apples. Six Dallas-area schools, including Finch Elementary in
McKinney, will take part in the study. Ninety minutes a week,
for six weeks, fourth-graders will play "The Quest to Lava
Mountain," a game that teaches them skill