Video Game Teaches Kids Healthy Habits

By Wendy K. Kleinman, The Oklahoman

Oct. 29–It’s not quite a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mystery, but children can choose their own adventure as sleuths solving the “mysterious outbreak of unhealthy habits” in a free online video game.

The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective teaches children how to live healthier, both with what they eat and what they do all day.

Players select a suspect to investigate, review the case file to learn what that child’s unhealthy habits and health concerns are, and then do the investigative footwork — or, in this case, investigative mouse-clicking. Their sleuthing tools include operations like “Whack a Snack” and “Zap the TV.”

But the “CSI”-like work is not accomplished just sitting at a computer.

The game gives budding detectives hands-on activities to help them get to the bottom of the problem, like experiments on how to measure sugar in sodas and scavenger hunts to teach them how to understand food labels.

It even shuts off after 20 minutes so the young sleuths have to unglue their eyes from the computer screen and do something that gets them moving.

The game, available in English and Spanish, is part of the Healthy Eating Active Living program by Kaiser Permanente, a nonprofit health plan. It was developed by the producer of SpongeBob SquarePants, Monsters Inc. and Rugrats video games.

Children can get to the game by logging on to www.kp.org/amazingfooddetective.

Teachers and parents can download complementary curriculum and activity guides prepared by Scholastic from the same link.

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