A new free online game is taking aim at childhood obesity. In The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective, children join forces with a detective to solve eight mysteries of why some kids are unhealthy. By playing the game, kids learn about healthy foods and exercise habits.
Kaiser Permanente, a leading health maintenance organization, brings the game to the Web as “part of Kaiser Permanente’s continuing efforts to address the epidemic of childhood obesity,” explains Ray Baxter, Senior Vice President of Community Benefit at Kaiser Permanente. “Kids spend a lot of their time in front of the TV and computer, and we know we need to reach them wherever they are.”
In the game, The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective, an animated female gumshoe decked out in a traditional trench coat and hat, provides kids with a lineup of eight children from diverse cultural backgrounds, each representing a mystery.
One of the mysteries involves Michael, a boy who doesn’t exercise enough. Michael’s a little chubby, and his dossier reveals the unhealthy habit of too much computer time. His activity level is way low explains the detective, suggesting that Michael needs to get more play in his day. The mystery takes you back in time to when Michael is sitting on the couch watching TV. The room has many interactive objects, but you solve the mystery by clicking on the soccer shirt. Michael puts it on and joins a soccer team. As the detective stamps case closed, she explains that, “Doing something active gives you more energy.”
Some of the other mysteries deal with children who exercise but are not very strong (solution: eat more protein), who skip breakfast, and who eat too much. In each, the player helps the unhealthy children make changes to their lifestyles.
Solving each mystery unlocks three of the game’s twenty-four arcade mini games. The mini games vary greatly but are usually themed to the eating or exercise problem brought up in the mystery.
A unique feature for this online game is that it shuts off after twenty minutes, encourages kids to go do something active, and then keeps them out of the game for sixty minutes. The game can be played in English or Spanish.
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