Energy Balance is a casual web game that encourages players to associate calories with activities. The game was specifically created for the Apps for Healthy Kids competition, which is part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative.
Energy Balance is a fast paced matching game where the player picks the most appropriate activity to burn the calories associated with a particular food. It teaches kids to balance the calories they get from food with appropriate activities. Energy Balance allows players to compare scores and unlock achievements for speed and persistence. Energy Balance was developed in conjunction with Duke University Medical Center researchers and physicians.
“Childhood obesity is arguably one of our most pressing public health challenges,” says Dr. Bernard Fuemmeler, a pediatric obesity researcher at Duke. “Children need to be equipped with the tools to help them navigate through the energy-rich environment in which they live and teaching children about health needs to be a fun and engaging enterprise. That’s why we are excited to be working with the excellent software engineers and game designers from Little Green Software. We hope that games like these can play a role in combating the obesity epidemic.”
Little Green Software partner Robert Taylor says: “Unfortunately, most people don’t really think about the calories associated with the foods they eat throughout the day. The goal of Energy Balance is to build relationships between foods and their associated calories in the minds of players. For example: if I eat a hamburger for lunch, then I really should go for a bike ride today instead of watching TV to burn those calories. As players begin to remember the relationship between calories and activities, their scores improve in the game. I know I’ve learned a lot from play testing the game.”
Energy Balance is provided free of charge by Little Green Software. This game allows players to jump in and start building healthy relationships between foods and activities as they try to best their previous high score and unlock achievements.
