There’s some really interesting things happening at the moment with games and their potential to make us more active. I said a long while ago that the only way a running machine could be made even slightly palatable for me was if it was part of a 3D virtual world with stuff (e.g. robots, dinosaurs, zombies – all good) chasing you, and things to think about and interact with while you were running. Now it looks like we might be getting there…
This recent article from the BBC describes some of the new technologies available for ‘making fit fun’ and makes some interesting points, particularly hitting on what, I think, is a key advantage of games to encourage physical activity, pointing out that “it helps associate physical activity with feeling good, not feeling bad, and that’s a powerful, life-changing shift”.
(Another article, also from the BBC, goes further – there is some evidence that games don’t only have the power to make us fit, they can be used in pain control and treatment of psychological problems.)
