Untitled 1
CSS Library

Reviews

Videos

Images

Sections

Other

 

News

Sponsored by


Free MMO Games

cg-now

 Video Game Lies

 

 

 Family Friendly Gaming Devotional January

 Family Friendly Gaming Devotional February

FFG Original

Christian Dating

Pikmin 3 Deluxe

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season One Part Two

Wreckfest

Family Friendly Gaming Hall of Fame




News

DanceDanceRevolution Teams Up with American Diabetes Associations School Walk for Diabetes Campaign

 

KONAMI's DanceDanceRevolution Video Game Franchise to Be Used at Schools Nationwide To Showcase the Benefits Of An Active Lifestyle

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – November 15, in the year of our Lord 2011 – In celebration of Diabetes Awareness Month during November, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced they are joining forces with the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) School Walk for Diabetes campaign which will use the DanceDanceRevolution video game to help raise awareness about the important health benefits of daily exercise. Initiatives to promote the prevention of childhood obesity, diabetes education and awareness with the ADA will include ADA, DanceDanceRevolution tournaments which will be hosted at select cities participating in the School Walk program. To further promote a mutual commitment to lifelong physical activity, the ADA logo has been added to DanceDanceRevolution II console boxes which were released on October 11th, 2011.

"KONAMI recognizes the unsettling trends in children and diabetes, so we have made concerted effort to help promote physical activity through DanceDanceRevolution," said Shinji Hirano, President of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "Meanwhile, The American Diabetes Association has done an incredible job in educating the public on the importance of healthy lifestyles, so we hope bringing DanceDanceRevolution into such an ambitious campaign will help us achieve our goal of getting kids off the couch and engaging in an active lifestyle."

To support healthy living, school spirit and community awareness, the American Diabetes Association's School Walk for Diabetes is an educational school fundraising program designed to teach kindergarten through 12th grade students about type 1 and type 2 diabetes and the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices. Money raised through the event helps to fund diabetes research, education and advocacy in support of the mission of the American Diabetes Association. If the unsettling trends in obesity continue, one out of every three children born in American today could face a future with the devastating disease of diabetes.

"Cutting the risk factors of type 2 diabetes begins with making some important lifestyle changes. Keeping active is a critical part of staying healthy and DanceDanceRevolution has been an inspirational craze across the country that has had a positive impact in the fight against childhood obesity," said Mary Baumann, Director of Youth Markets for the American Diabetes Association, Houston,Texas. "We are excited to work with KONAMI to bring the popularity of the DanceDanceRevolution video game to the ADA's School Walk for Diabetes campaign."

The School Walk for Diabetes is held throughout the year at schools across the country. The list of cities and states include;

• Boston, Massachusetts
• Connecticut / New Jersey
• Northern New Jersey
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Minnesota – Greater Minneapolis
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Southern Missouri (part of the LA territory)
• Chicago, Illinois
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Lubbock, Texas

DanceDanceRevolution is already integrated into a number of initiatives to combat childhood obesity and this partnership is a perfect complement. The childhood obesity epidemic is prompting schools across the country to shift the focus of physical education. The calorie-burning DanceDanceRevolution video game is the latest weapon in the nation's battle against the childhood obesity epidemic and is being incorporated in various school systems across the country as a regular part of a physical education curriculum.

Childhood obesity and sedentary lifestyles lead to risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease and type 2diabetes. A 2009 study published in the Journal of Pediatric Obesity, evaluated the effects of an exercise intervention program using DanceDanceRevolution on 35 at-risk for or currently overweight children seven to 12 years of age. The most significant findings from the study showed after a 12-week aerobic exercise with DanceDanceRevolution the children who participated made significant improvements to their overall health.

The DanceDanceRevolution franchise combines real physical dancing with energetic music and visuals. DanceDanceRevolution also comes with a tailored workout mode that allows players to track how many calories they burn as they play.

About DanceDanceRevolution in Schools
As the original pioneer in the music game genre and a continued leader in using video games as an entertaining way to promote fitness, KONAMI first introduced the DanceDanceRevolution video game series into public schools' curriculum in 2006 through its groundbreaking partnership with the State of West Virginia's Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) and West Virginia University's (WVU) Motor Development Center. Both entities were inspired to enter into a partnership with KONAMI after West Virginia's Games for Health research project demonstrated that DanceDanceRevolution was an effective tool for increasing children's activity levels and overall health while having fun! As part of the initiative, the state developed a school-based DanceDanceRevolution curriculum and collected data in order to analyze and report on the health and academic benefits of using the game in schools. With its proven success throughout West Virginia, the program expanded to Hawaii in 2007, with an inaugural Hawaii state tournament taking place earlier this year. Once again, the partnership has encouraged kids to get healthy, happy and grooving to the new beat of an active lifestyle.

 

Back to Archives