WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: High-Tech Game at YMCA Keeps Kids Moving

High-Tech Game at YMCA Keeps Kids Moving

By Maggie Wade
maggie@wlbt.net

Many children across the country are eating themselves to death. Childhood obesity is a major problem affecting kids as young as two years old. The metro YMCA is trying to change that by helping children understand you can have fun while you exercise.

The Y is using a unique, new product is called Neos. It's designed to be set up outside on playgrounds.

"It's an interactive game," says YMCA childcare director Owenne Outlaw George. "It lights up a sequence of lights, and the kids run around and chase it to find which light they need to be hitting. It gets them moving, gets them active."

This is a new addition to the metro YMCA at the reservoir. It is also a way to get kids off the couch and on the playground for exercise.

According to websites on childhood obesity, one-third of children in the United States are obese, and 40 percent of children 5 to 8 years old have at least one risk factor for heart disease because of obesity.

Some of the complications include Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and other respiratory problems, sleep disorders, and liver disease. It can also lead to low self-esteem. Overweight children are also bullied more, suffer from depression and can have behavior and learning problems. 

"This is an important product because kids need to be moving," George said. "Obesity is a problem in our state, and kids have spent too much time sitting around. We at the YMCA believe they should be moving around, and this is just the game to get them to do that."

Neos may not be a cure-all, but it's a start to teach kids to exercise more and eat less. It is competitive. Designers say it helps improve agility and balance and it helps kids with social skills.

"We need to get the kids moving," George says. "If they're not moving, then they're unable to burn the calories that they need to burn each day."