Study: "Dance Dance Revolution" Video Game Improves Kids' Health

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 1, 2007 - 10:30am.

Charleston, W. Va. - Children who consistently play Konami's "Dance Dance Revolution" (DDR) dance-based video game have shown improvements in health, attitude and behavior, according to a study conducted by West Virginia Games for Health, a research project of West Virginia University and the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency.

The two-month study required children to play the game five days per week for at least 30 minutes, and monitored their weight, blood pressure, body mass index, arterial function, fitness levels and attitudes towards exercise.

The research found that, while not all of the children lost weight, "the majority did not gain weight while experiencing improvements in their aerobic capacity, blood vessel function and overall fitness level…their attitudes towards exercise improved as did their self esteem."

"This Institutional Review Board approved study has now provided evidence that consistent playing of DDR improves arterial function in overweight children," said Emily Murphy, a pediatric exercise physiologist with the Pediatrics Department at the WVU School of Medicine.

Japan's Konami has joined the West Virginia partnership in an effort to place the game in all public schools in West Virginia.

The effort has also gained financial support from Gov. Joe Manchin, the Benedum Foundation, Acordia National and Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield, and is now providing DDR equipment, training physical education teachers, and promoting DDR clubs in public schools in the state.