A contingent of Latino youth hit Washington late last month to offer some suggestions for health care reform. The topic of video games and the obesity of today's youth did not escape their scrutiny.
The Washington Youth Seminar, a four-day event sponsored by the League of United Latin American Citizens, brought 56 emerging student leaders from the 11th and 12th grade together to discuss issues impacting the Latin community. The students came from across the United States and Puerto Rico. While in Washington, they adopted several positions that they used at talking points with legislators, private institutions and corporate leaders.
Among the 10 talking points:
Increase Physical Activity: Congress should provide incentives to schools to expand physical education classes and keep school gyms open longer. Because obesity increases with the amount of hours spent watching TV and playing video games; TV shows and game manufactures should receive a seal of approval from the government if they alter their content to encourage physical activity. Likewise, businesses could receive a seal of approval if they provided exercise options for their staff. Congress should consider subsidizing gym membership for low income Americans.
Interesting concept. The Wii, Wii Fit, the Balance Board and most exercise games would already get the seal. But the phrase "alter their content" seems to suggest forcing a change in philosophy on how games are made.
To see the full list of suggestions, check out this report on the trip.
Opinion: Getting the government involved in making "suggestions" to companies on how to make games seems like a slippery slope to increased regulation. I've always been a believer that regulation starts at home. Monitor your own kids, watch what they eat, watch what they play and limit their intakes on both. Letting the government play parent never works well.
Comments
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
I love having a high metabolism, i can eat whatever the heck i want whenever I want hahahah.
but seroiusly people go excercise if you're fat, and even if you are skinny, its healthier to be muscular and skinny rather than flabby and skinny. I used to be a stick figure until i started lifting and its made me a much more confident and stronger person. I'm still skinny but strong for my size.
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
here's another solution: un-ban schoolyard games such as Tag and the like
岩「…Where do masochists go when they die?」
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
Over eating is a bigger problem in terms of weight gain, but feel free to run as much as you can. It did wonders for Jim Fixx.
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
First of all how could you make TV and videogames any more physical than the Wii already is? And even that isn't a good substitute for getting off your ass and doing real exercise.
Secondly, exercise is only half of the weight loss equasion. You need to stop eating junk food too. All the exresise in the world won't do any good if you don't do both.
And lastly, free gym memberships wouldn't do shit. You can't make someone get themselves in shape, regardless of cost. They have to want it.
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
A properly thought out regimine of the bodyweight excercises based on the one included in wii fit plus some pull ups and dips are far better for your overall fitness than getting out and running constantly.
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
true that, lifting burns a lot of fat and increases your muscle mass. A good amount of running combined wiht weightlifting and sports is a healthy combination for life.
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
I think it is very inappropriate to place any sort of "Government-approved" endorsement on any form of medium.
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
That's interesting.
I think they're suggesting that games be made without the "Do not imitate" tags.
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
Interesting concept. The Wii, Wii Fit, the Balance Board and most exercise games would already get the seal. But the phrase "alter their content" seems to suggest forcing a change in philosophy on how games are made. Getting the government involved in making "suggestions" to companies on how to make games seems like a slippery slope to increased regulation.
I've always been a believer that regulation starts at home. Monitor your own kids, watch what they eat, watch what they play and limit their intakes on both. Letting the government play parent never works well.
@GP: You forget to add the "Editorial" and "Opinion" tags. Not a big deal but I've come to rely on them as a means of distinguishing news reporting from editorializing.
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
Point taken. Will modify.
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
Even if you subsidize gym memberships, people still actually need to get off their lazy asses and go. Most folks I know can afford the $25/month average cost per month; that's not the issue for any of them. But you have to want to get in shape, or you won't go even if it's free.
"De minimus non curat lex"
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
TV shows and game manufactures should receive a seal of approval from the government if they alter their content to encourage physical activity.
How about... NO, YOU FREAKIN DUMBASS!!!
This is wrong. Now they try to brainwash children in order to get support for futher goverment intervention.
They will look up and shout "Give ROFLCOPTERS to us"... and I´ll whisper "NO". The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka DeviantCensorship): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
"This is wrong. Now they try to brainwash children in order to get support for futher goverment intervention."
Wat? I see no brainwashing involved here.. It's amazing how stupid people are, and it's sad and pathetic to see such knee-jerk reactions from them.. They aren't brainwashing, they are trying to ENCOURAGE HEALTHY BEHAVIOR. Not FORCE it, not MANDATE it, ENCOURAGE IT. If they are petitioning the government to ENCOURAGE healthy behavior, it's a good thing.
There are some of us here who need to lay off of the insanity juice and realize that promoting and ecouraging healthy behavior is a far, FAR cry from "brainwashing."
While I disagree with the idea of "altering content" to recieve a government seal of approval, I can see the benefits of promoting (NOT forcing) games that encourage exercise and living healthy. While the Latino Youth group's phrasing may not have been the best, I can see some good points in what they say.
To add to that, I disagree with putting a form of approval on the games, but if they want to encourage companies to make them, or even offer a subsidy to promote healthy games, I have absolutely no problem with that.
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
LOL, there is a difference between have a healty life between asking to goverment to "make me do exersice with my games".
The brainwashing comment was for young kids already asking for goverment to regulate an aspect of daily life. That´s a step on the wrong direction, if you ask me.
They will look up and shout "Give ROFLCOPTERS to us"... and I´ll whisper "NO". The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka DeviantCensorship): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
There was no mention of regulation or "make me do exercise with my games." If there was, I'd be opposed to it as well. I did mention that I was opposed to MANDATED and FORCED change and FORCING companies to make healthy games.. Promoting and encouraging it, on the other hand, is perfectly acceptable. In fact, I'd like to see more promotion and encouragement of healthy lifestyles. Subsidize healthy foods, make it easier to eat right, make it cheaper to work out, provide healthy living information via a website. All of those things are perfectly acceptable, in my opinion.. It is in no way shape or form brainwashing or mandated exercise.
Like I said before, a knee-jerk "OMG GOVERNMENT IS BAD!" response is just stupid and sad.
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
Didn´t you feel shivers when you read "seal of approval from the government"? Because I did.
And why is always media and companies responsability? Is not the US goverment eliminating PE from schools?
They will look up and shout "Give ROFLCOPTERS to us"... and I´ll whisper "NO". The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka DeviantCensorship): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com
Re: Latino Youth Offer Health Care Suggestions
Yes, tell people that cardio is once again the solution to being fat. The attitude that we have in this country about cardio is abusive and self destructive.
Kids eat too much calorie dense nutrient poor food. That is the primary cause of childhood obesity. Everything else is a contributing factor.
Cardio exercise should be used to promote cardiovascular health, it should not be used as a method of weight control in anyone, especially not in children.
Subsidizing gym memberships for anyone will not solve the obesity "epidemic".
We are fat because of what we eat and how we exercise not because of how much we exercise.
Most people don't have even the faintest idea of what is healthy.