More and more kids are becoming overweight. Many are just not getting enough exercise. Now new technology is getting kids excited about hitting the gym. 7Healthcast reporter Dr. Deanna Lites has more.
It's not surprising that childhood obesity is on the rise. These days, some kids only exercise their fingers. Karen Gagliastre is the Health and Wellness Projects Director at Central Community Branch of the YMCA in Worcester. She says, "Anything we can do to get them more active is our goal."
These girls are great gamers, but they use their bodies to manuever the machines.
Welcome to the latest in exercise; the virtual gym at the YMCA. Using special machines, kids can get a full body workout.
8th grader Katie Suprenant says, "You put on the belt and there's a robot on the screen and that's you. You become the person on the screen."
One game is called "Trap Attack."
8th grader Teresa Rivera says, "You have to collect all the circles that are on the floor."
"They are using their legs, so they are getting increased muscle endurance there, but also with a cardiovascular workout," says Gagliastre.
Another interactive workout is "Jump Explosion."
Gagliastre explains, "They're trying to jump up, using their arms, using their whole body to try and catch those balls and push them back up into the ceiling."
For the kids who love XBox, there's the Kilowatt machine. It plays XBox games, but instead of your fingers, your core muscles do the steering.
Teresa says, "Normally you work out and it's kind of boring and when you have a computer screen in front of you it's not boring."
And for a team workout, there's the "Sports Wall."
Gagliastre says, "The kids have to run up, play in teams, really helping them with coordination, and agility."
These girls are learning an important lesson; fitness can be fun.
"They're working hard and they didn't think they were going to be working as hard as they are," says Gagliastre.
Katie says, "It makes it fun, just playing video games, you don't really think of it as working out ."
The virtual gym is part of the "Girls on the Go Program." In addition to exercise, they also learn about eating healthy .
Related Links:
YMCA of Greater Worcester
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