SBIR-STTR Award

Despite enormous public health efforts, childhood obesity is becoming increasingly prevalent, bringing with it both short- and long-term health consequences, including increased risk of childhood diabetes, high blood pressure, and low self-esteem. Long-term consequences include those associated with adult obesity (i.e., heart disease, diabetes, hypertension), of which childhood overweight/obesity is a powerful predictor. In an effort to prevent these ill effects, Health Management Consultants of VA proposes to develop Meta-Kenkoh, an Internet databased adventure game targeted for children and their parents, aimed at preventing/treating childhood obesity. The ultimate goal of Meta-Kenkoh is to provide motivation and resources for children to develop life-long habits of being active, maintaining a healthy weight, and eating a healthful diet. Specific aims for Phase I are: 1) Design an architectural framework for the game; 2) Create characters and character features/powers; 3) Design strategies to involve parents; 4) Develop educational/motivational content; 5) Formatively evaluate the program. Meta-Kenkoh could be offered free to children and parents as part of a public health initiative and/or as part of a comprehensive pediatric weight loss program. Income to support the game would be provided by selected health-related vendors in exchange for the opportunity to place advertisements on the Internet site. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Meta-Kenkoh could be offered free to children and parents as part of a public health initiative and/or as part of a comprehensive pediatric weight loss program. Income to support the game would be provided by selected health-related vendors in exchange for the opportunity to place advertisements on the Internet site.

It is estimated that 13% of children aged 6 to 11 years are overweight, almost twice as many as 20 years ago. The health implications of this increasing prevalence are serious, due to associated increased risks of childhood diabetes, hypertension, and low self-esteem. Overweight children are also more likely to become overweight/obese adults, who are at higher risk for heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and some types of cancers. To address this public health concern, Health Management Consultants of VA proposes to build upon the Phase I MetaKenkoh project, an Internet-based, real-life-activity game for children and their parents aimed at preventing/treating childhood obesity. Specific aims are to: 1) Expand the futuristic story of MetaKenkoh; 2) Enhance existing puzzles/games; 3) Create new puzzles/games and characters; 4) Incorporate additional graphics, animation, and sound; 5) Provide peer comparisons to enhance motivation; 6) Develop an embedded Instant Messenger system; 7) Incorporate Internet-enabled physical activity sensors; 8) Design a resource website for parents; 9) Evaluate impact of the game on user physical activity and nutritional intake. MetaKenkoh could be used as part of school health and wellness programs, as a health education component of physician practices, or as an independent intervention via on-line subscription.

Thesaurus Terms:
Internet, child behavior, computer program /software, computer system design /evaluation, educational resource design /development, health education, obesity, play, weight loss child physical development, communication, computer assisted instruction, computer assisted patient care, exercise, health behavior, pediatrics child (0-11), clinical research, human subject