Video games aren’t a fad. They aren’t about to fade away or disappear anytime soon. Because of the advances in technology, the games today bring such realism, excitement and involvement that they are now an ingrained way of life for a huge percentage of young Americans. Yet the facts show that young Americans are facing some tremendous health problems and “most” of the video games appear to be contributing to at them, namely obesity and consequent diabetes.
The Mayo Clinic suggests that excess calorie intake, coupled with an inactive lifestyle as children and teens play video games, is causing a virtual explosion in childhood obesity rates. Regular consumption of high-calorie foods, such as fast foods, baked goods and vending machine snacks, combined with a more inactive leisure time, are contributing to weight gain. Loading up on soft drinks, candy and dessert snacks, while quite tasty, are high in sugar and calories. Sedentary kids are more likely to experience weight gains because they don’t burn enough calories through physical activity. Inactive leisure activities such as watching television or playing video games have greatly contributed to the problem.
With that in mind, the people at Teknik Digital Arts, Inc (trading under the symbol TKNK.OB) are innovating the development of physically-interactive video gaming software systems. The company offers physically-interactive video gaming systems for play on personal computers and video game consoles, which provides all video game players with the opportunity to burn calories and build muscle while playing their favorite video games.
How cool is that? Very. Are we talking about playing popular video games, and actually doing enough “work” to burn calories, lose weight and build muscle? Yes indeed, and because the control system is designed to be worked by the entire upper body instead of just the “thumbs”, the entire muscular/skeletal frame comes into play. By adjusting the isometric resistance levels, each player can select the level of workout he or she is comfortable with, from a “very easy” resistance of approximately 5 pounds, to the body building challenges of over 100 pounds.
Can it be effective? Can pushing, pulling, bending and twisting against an isometric resistance to guide your video game actually result in measurable results? Once again the answer is yes. Teknik’s research, along with some of the brightest names in sports medicine, have determined that using the Teknik controller resulted in approximately one pound of lost weight per week. Along with that controlled weight loss, they saw heart rate, blood flow, energy levels, and mental acuity increase. The body’s ability to deal with stress was improved and overall body functions improved.
The fact is that – as technology removes the workload from our backs and moves it to our brains, and our leisure time is filled with more sedentary forms of entertainment – fighting the battle against weight gain will become ever more important. Teknik has developed a way for game players to go with the technological “flow”, while enabling the benefits of weight resistance exercise to be incorporated into the play. That is indeed a most successful combination. Stay tuned to this company for more interesting updates.
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