Video games help kids shed weight

16 percent of kids 6 to 19 are overweight; another 15 percent risk becoming obese

By JOAN VERDON
THE (HACKENSACK N.J.) RECORD

last updated: February 03, 2008 06:20:51 AM

What do you get if you merge a video arcade with a gym? Volt Fitness in Glen Rock, N.J., a concept that four business partners hope will be the next big thing in health clubs.

Health clubs are a $14-billion-plus industry in the United States, accordinàg to the International Health, Racquet and Sports Club Association. While independent clubs around the country have begun adding exercise rooms for children, as places where kids can spend time while their parents exercise, the Volt partners believe they are the first to have created an exercise circuit program designed specifically for kids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 16 percent of children ages 6 to 19 are overweight and that an additional 15 percent are at risk of becoming obese.

The partners -- a pediatrician from Saddle River, N.J., a former fitness director of the Ridgewood, N.J., Y and two trainers -- have taken the circuit training concept made popular by storefront fitness chains such as Curves International Inc. and given it a kid-friendly twist with exercise machines that use video games as a motivator. In one machine, youngsters pedal an exercise bicycle in order to play a racing video game on a large screen connected to the bike. The faster the child pedals, the faster a character in the video game moves.

The partners invested close to $500,000 to buy equipment and convert a vacant industrial building into the first Volt Fitness club. Since December, the club has been enrolling teens and preteens whose parents pay $10 to $15 an hour so their children can work up a sweat while playing video games that require them to ride an exercise bike, work out on a rowing machine, or engage in a simulated boxing match. The club also has exercise equipment that requires kids to climb a moving rock wall, and toss basketballs into a chute while doing abdominal crunches.

One of the exercise machines, the Makoto, which requires players to hit lights that flash on three poles, is used by professional basketball teams to develop speed and agility.

All of the exercise stations at Volt are designed "to get the kids moving so that they will have a change in mind-set -- a paradigm shift in how they view exercise," Wade said.

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