Document text
http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Multimedia Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend February 17, 2007 Toy makers add exercise element to keep kids moving 'Active' products aim to help youth combat obesity By Keiko Morris Newsday NEW YORK — Pedaling away on small stationary bikes set before television screens, four preschoolers kept their aerobic workout going to the clarion shouts of fitness guru Richard Simmons. "You've got to keep pedaling, baby... " Simmons, dressed in shorts and a sequined tank top, cried to his diminutive crew, as he fielded questions from reporters. "Keep pedaling, keep pedaling. You got it, yay!" Not Simmons' typical workout class, the children cycling behind him this week inside Mattel's Manhattan showroom were demonstrating Fisher-Price's new Smart Cycle — the latest in active toys and an innovation Simmons is now promoting in his campaign to improve children's health and fitness by expanding physical education requirements in the No Child Left Behind legislation. The Smart Cycle is expected to be on the market in July. With the number of overweight children doubling since the 1970s, concerns about obesity and overall health of children nationwide has become a prevalent topic among educators and health professionals. A handful of toy companies, such as Mattel, Fisher-Price's parent company, have taken up the cause and will debut some new "active" products at the American International Toy Fair at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan today. The concept behind the Smart Cycle is that children learn better when they are having fun and, in this case, the idea is that they don't realize they are involved in a scholastic and exercise endeavor, Fisher-Price officials said. Advertisement The toy consists of a small bicycle and digital games that plug into the television. To play any of the games — which include the ever-popular Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants characters — the child has to pedal. And the games involve tasks such as matching colors, numbers and shapes as well as spelling and counting. Many point to Konami's Dance Dance Revolution as the toy that spawned the latest trend of combining the arcade with fitness. First popularized in Japan's arcades, Dance Dance Revolution teaches a number of dance combinations using arrows on a screen that correspond to arrows on a mat where the player stands. There is a workout mode in which players can count the calories they burn. Introduced to the United States in 1999, the game now has a home version that can be played on Xbox and PlayStation and has been adopted into a fitness curriculum to combat obesity in West Virginia schools. "The schools started calling us about three years ago, and we hadn't even thought of the idea of putting it in schools," said Clara Gilbert, Konami America's director of business partnerships, based in California. "With all the new technology, they wanted to see how to get kids moving in a fun way." The toys may not be a cure for the nation's weight problems, experts said, but they might help. "What's interesting is you take something like TV-watching, which has been a passive activity, and you add an element to activity to it," Simmons said. "It can't be a bad thing." Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Casinos Canada Cord Blood Banking Entertainment Guide Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Trunks, Footlocker Men's Clothing Debt Help