This is an exciting and possibly a game-changing intervention, particularly for the highest risk children—those in lower-income families or who live in neighborhoods that do not facilitate physical activity. These additional steps to earn Zamzee rewards could be obtained by jumping on the bed," said C. Tracy Orleans, PhD, senior program officer and senior scientist at RWJF.
Using an Idea Prize to Spur an Invention to Increase Physical Activity
Launching "Ruckus Nation" to develop effective products that increase physical activity among middle school children pioneer and obesity
Dates of Project: August 1, 2007–March 31, 2012
Field of Work: Prize competitions for games to address childhood obesity
Problem Synopsis: Youth tend to become less physically active in middle school, which increases their risk for obesity.
Synopsis of the Work: HopeLab Foundation, Redwood City, Calif., hosted an idea prize competition and then built an interactive, digital product to spur physical activity in middle school students, particularly those youth who are most likely to become obese.
Key Results: HopeLab Foundation collected 429 entries from 37 countries and 41 states for an online prize competition called Ruckus Nation. The entries were ideas for digital products designed to encourage physical activity in middle school-aged youth. Inspired by the competition, HopeLab then developed a commercial product, Zamzee, comprised of a wearable activity meter and rewards website.
Key Findings: Middle school-aged youth who used Zamzee increased their level of physical activity by an average of 59 percent—the equivalent of running nearly three-fourths of a mile per day.
The Zamzee game—a wearable activity meter and rewards website—increases physical activity in middle school-aged youth by 59 percent.
Recommended Reading
- An X Prize for Health and Health Care - RWJF Explores the Idea
- Three Organizations Win Changemakers' Competition for Innovative Solutions to the Challenges Facing Young Men
- Games For Health: The Latest Tool in the Medical Care Arsenal
- Advancing the Field of Health Games
- Role of Video Games in Improving Health-Related Outcomes
- Interactive Games to Promote Behavior Change in Prevention and Treatment
- Using Active Video Games for Physical Activity Promotion
- Need Satisfaction Supportive Game Features as Motivational Determinants
- The Power of Play: Innovations in Getting Active Summit 2011
Ruckus Nation, an online idea competition, "was really an effort to cast our net as broadly as possible for potential solutions," said Steve W. Cole, PhD, vice president of research and development at HopeLab.
Related Websites
We looked around the world of health risks," said Steve W. Cole, PhD, vice president of research and development at HopeLab. "And we asked, 'Where else is there a great need for effective interventions in which the power of play may be both distinctly untapped and have a plausible impact on the disease process itself in terms of literal physical health outcomes?'"