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West Virginia expands Dance Dance Revolution program
Although Snowshoe, Winterplace, and Canaan Valley (to name a few) are just getting cranked for the winter ski rush, it seems like the locals are the last ones hitting the slopes and burnin' through the calories, but there's just no escaping the workouts if you attend a West Virginia public school. Following the first round of Dance Dance Revolution implementations in the school systems, the state has now announced intentions to stick with the program for awhile longer. Apparently, children who participated in the trials were able to maintain their weight and "saw a reduction in some risk factors for heart disease and diabetes," and now plans are to put DDR in every single public school statewide. Furthermore, children who hopped on the mats for a frenzied round or two ended up feeling "more comfortable" participating in other extracurricular activities, somewhat proving that video games don't breed killers. Nah, there's no word on whether the principal / teachers will be fiercely competing with the kiddos, but we're not holding our collective breath.
West Virginia University study says DDR helps fitness attitude
Preliminary findings of a West Virginia University clinical study show that playing Dance Dance Revolution is "helping kids improve heart health and fitness, even if weight loss isn't always occurring." Let's review some basics before the comments section explodes in a collective "DUH!" Studies are required to show proof of something and although it seems quite obvious that getting kids -- or anyone else for that matter -- playing DDR would obviously improve their health and fitness, it still needs to be studied. Earlier this year West Virginia was incredibly progressive, announcing they'd place Dance Dance Revolution in all 765 public schools in the state to fight obesity. This study, although apparently unrelated, definitely helps defend the DDR decision from earlier this year.This study was a 24-week at-home clinical study of 35 children. Ages 7 to 12 with higher than the 85th percentile for body-mass index. The greatest difference found by the researchers was just general attitude towards fitness improved. Kids don't hate being fit, they hate doing boring stuff or suffering through schoolyard indignity to do it. There's really nothing wrong with DDR or this entire school initiative. According to the article, DDR will fully saturate the West Virginia school system by the summer of 2007. Now we wait twenty years to see if West Virginia ends up becoming the skinniest or healthiest state in the nation.
