There’s no question that today’s hottest public health topic is the escalating number of overweight Americans, especially the rising rate of overweight children. One child in four is now classified as overweight or at risk for becoming overweight—more than double the rate of a generation ago.
The causes of this problem are complex, including a mix of genetic, social, cultural, environmental, and lifestyle factors, affecting eating and physical activity habits. While there are no simple solutions, the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation and five other organizations—the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Dietetic Association, the International Life Sciences Institute Center for Health Promotion, and the National Recreation and Park Association—partnered together to address this issue as part of the ACTIVATE program. On June 26, 2002, the group launched Kidnetic.com, a research-based Web site designed to promote healthful eating and physical activity among kids and their parents.
Kidnetic.com combines food, fitness, fun, feelings, and family dynamics, packaged into an interactive and educational site meant to get kids up and moving instead of surfing the Internet for hours at a time.
Research Becomes Virtual Reality
In 1999, the IFIC Foundation recognized obesity as an emerging issue and initiated ongoing consumer research, including focus groups, ethnographic studies, and in-home interviews. The research targeted “tweens” (children between the ages of 9 and 12) and their parents, with the goals of better understanding attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors about health, and exploring the best avenues for communicating information about healthful eating and physical activity.
The research found that kids and parents both relate obesity to food more than to physical activity. In addition, kids relate weight to performance and appearance, but not to health. Kids are not sure what “being fit” means and don’t sustain interest in concepts like “nutrition,” “physical activity,” or “healthy eating.” To kids, “healthy” brings to mind somewhat negative images of being required to eat fruits and vegetables or being deprived of their favorite foods. Being healthy equals “rules.”
In addition, kids want “small victories” to sustain their interest and build self-esteem and ideas for physical activity beyond organized sports. They want ongoing parental guidance and emotional support.
Research with parents found they do not see overweight as a health issue for their kids—they believe their child will outgrow the problem. They also fear that bringing attention to the problem will cause eating disorders. Parents feel they lack the information and skills to address the issue with their kids. If they were to receive information, they wanted it to be “credible,” “quick,” and “easy to use.”
The bottom line is that kids and parents need help defining and measuring “fitness,” “healthful eating,” and “health.” In addition, they want information that addresses self-esteem, behavior, parenting, family dynamics, and peer relations. Kids and parents also need positive, realistic approaches to getting fit and help in setting reasonable goals. They want to work together to develop healthful habits, but they need effective tools to do so.
Kids and parents agreed that a Web site was the easiest way to deliver information and reach kids where they already spend time. And so, Kidnetic.com was developed.
Getting Kids Active
Kids said they wanted to receive information in a way that’s “fun,” “cool,” and “not boring.” Kidnetic.com certainly delivers—it features kid-friendly games and ideas for active fun separate from organized sports.
First there’s Busy Buddy, an animated character that “lives” on kids’ desktops and encourages frequent visits to Kidnetic.com to find fun and energizing activities and recipes.
Betchacant “dares” kids to challenge themselves by tackling simple activities such as “How many times can you jump rope in three minutes? In one minute? On one foot?” Via e-mail, kids can “dare” their friends and family to do the same.
Time Challenge motivates kids to beat the on-screen clock while playing active games such as an in-home scavenger hunt or fitness challenge. Time Challenge is unique because it gets kids up and moving while they are logged on to the computer.
Wet Head Games are active games invented and submitted by kids for kids to be played away from the computer. The assortment includes Chinese Jump Rope, Crab Soccer, Air Kick, the Dance-Off Challenge, and many more.
Polls and Quizzes on food, physical activity, or family relations let kids vote and test their knowledge and compare their responses to those of their peers. Shout Out, a moderated message board for kids, provides a forum for kids to share their thoughts and feelings.
Making Health Fun
While research found that kids do not equate body weight with health, they do relate weight to their physical performance and appearance, and the notion of enjoying more energy is appealing. In addition, because they don’t sustain interest in concepts like “nutrition,” “healthful eating,” and “physical activity,” Kidnetic.com tries to communicate messages about healthy eating and activity in ways that are fun and educational.
Inner G is an animated click-and-drag body (á la the game “Operation”) that teaches kids how food and physical activity habits affect health and energy levels. Kids complete Inner G’s framework by dragging missing body parts such as the heart, bones, or teeth into the correct body area. When a match is made, Inner G displays quick tips for keeping that body part healthy and suggests links to related recipes and Bright Papers (described below).
How about a steaming bowl of Brewed Monkey Brain Stew (chili) or a few Franken-Fingers with Blood Sauce (chicken fingers)? These “gross-out delights” are just a few of the kid-appealing dishes found at Recipe Roundup. Featured are simple and healthful recipes for kids to make, as well as special family-friendly recipes for kids and parents to whip up together.
Bright Papers are articles on fitness, food, fun, and feelings. Written in “kid-speak,” they inform kids about the links between healthful habits and feeling good, and offer ideas for the achievable goals and tips that kids need to sustain their interest. Bright Paper topics range from portion size control to getting active ten minutes at a time.
A Credible Resource for Parents
To assure parents about the accuracy of the information found at Kidnetic.com, all content is reviewed by the six founding partner organizations and a scientific advisory panel of experts in nutrition, physical activity, child psychology, and public health.
In addition, the “Parents’ Place” section gives parents tools to address healthy lifestyle issues with their kids. A special Bright Paper section for parents only and a list of Frequently Asked Questions provide guidance and practical tips about promoting physical activity, healthful eating, and self-esteem among kids. Parents may Ask An Expert questions about these topics and receive a personal reply from a member of the scientific advisory panel. A Discussion Board for parents allows them to share their thoughts and experiences with other parents.
Opening the Lines of Communication
Research showed that kids and parents welcome opportunities to enhance communication between them. The Kidnector is a virtual messaging service that encourages information exchanges about topics such as food, physical activity, and the kid-parent relationship. Kids can send their own original messages to parents (or vice versa), or they can complete one of several customizable messages provided.
What’s Next?
To ensure that Kidnetic.com continues to meet the needs of kids and parents, further research and regular updates based on user feedback and additional research are planned.
Although Kidnetic.com alone will not solve the problem of overweight children, it can be an important part of the overall solution. By providing kids and parents with ideas and tools to help them begin to change their habits today, Kidnetic.com is planting the seeds for healthier families tomorrow.
Four Key Facts About Kidnetic.Com
- Promotes healthful eating and physical activity among 9 to 12 year-old kids and their parents. The site is about prevention of weight problems, not “treatment” for overweight children.
- Developed on the basis of nearly 3 years of in-depth research with kids and parents.
- Targets “tweens” because they’re old enough to start making some of their own decisions, but still open to parental influence.
- Is noncommercial—it contains no advertising and nothing for sale.
Here are a few suggestions for sites aimed at keeping kids healthy:
http://www.bam.gov—BAM! answers kids’ questions on health issues and recommends ways to make their bodies and minds healthier, stronger, and safer.
http://www.healthfinder.gov/kids—Provides good suggestions for sites on exercise and nutrition for kids.
http://kidnetic.com—A healthy eating and active living site for kids ages 9 to 12 and their families.
http://kidshealth.org—Provides doctor-approved health information about children from before birth through adolescence.
http://navigator.tufts.edu—Family-friendly sites rated for content and usability.
http://www.verbnow.com—Encourages tweens to find a verb that fits their personality and interests to use as launching pad to better health.
Who’s Behind the Screens at Kidnetic.com
Kidnetic.com is the first component of the ACTIVATE program, a healthful eating and active living initiative. ACTIVATE is committed to promoting healthy family lifestyles to help prevent kids from becoming overweight to reduce their risk of suffering from obesity-related chronic diseases as adults
ACTIVATE is an educational outreach program of the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation (http://ific.org) developed in partnership with:
