Why DDR is A-OK in WVA

GamePolitics and other news sources have reported on West Virginia's efforts to combat childhood obesity with Konami's Dance Dance Revolution. DDR is being used in the state as a supplement to school health and phys-ed courses.

How did this all come about? A pair of interviews (here and here) at BlueAlien.org shed some light on the program's genesis and Konami's level of involvement with West Virginia officials.

Games for Health is the pilot project conducted last year at West Virginia University and funded by the Public Employee Insurance Agency (PEIA) to evaluate the effects of a game-based home exercise routine on cardiovascular fitness. The program measured results of at-risk or overweight children, ages 7 to 12 following a 12-week DDR regimen. The promising data obtained from the study prompted PEIA to partner with the state's Department of Education.

"We quickly came up with 20 PE teachers who were more than happy to try this out," said Melanie Purkey, Director of the Office of Healthy Schools, "and they came back with very positive input that students liked it. In particular it was attractive to the student who is not your traditional student who exceeds in physical education classes. but the students who normally want to not dress and sit out on the bleachers. It attracted that student to PE class and to being physically active."

Although officials wanted to introduce the program to all West Virginia schools, Purkey said money was tight.

"So we...contacted Konami and said, 'We're getting some national press that's attached to your game. We really would like to expand this project. could we partner with you to do that?'" Konami agreed to help and donated $75,000.

Not just a supplement to gym class, DDR setups in public schools are being made available to students and faculty both before and after school.

"They're looking at how to make it available, before school particularly... in West Virginia we have many consolidated schools that kids travel and the bus schedule is such that some kids get to school and they have to wait a half an hour or 45 minutes before their first period. This (DDR) will give them something physically active to do during that time. One of the plans... is to develop some clubs so students can have competitions from school-to-school... that's in the long-range plan and I think that's happening in other places as well."

Konami will soon have information on their website for other schools wishing to adopt their own DDR programs.

-Andrew Eisen