Fitness: Coming to a Video Game Near You

March 24, 2005 -- -- For a country facing an obesity epidemic, filling high school phys ed classes with video games may not sound like a great idea. But at Brandywine High School in Wilmington, Del., that's exactly what they're doing.

Games like "Dance Dance Revolution," where players dance their way to high scores, and devices like GameBike -- which puts players on a stationary bicycle that allows them to control a virtual rider by pedaling -- are getting kids and even some adults excited about physical fitness.

Using the already wide popularity of video game consoles like Playstation, Xbox and GameCube, and the increasing commonness of home computers in American households, some game and hardware developers are beginning to stress the "active' in 'interactive entertainment."

"My philosophy is: what can I find out there, on the market, that's going to get the students up off the couch and up off the gym floor?" said Brandywine physical education instructor Sandy Kupchick. "I'm trying to find anything I can to get them to participate."

Kupchick, who's been teaching physical education for more than 20 years, says she offers students a choice between playing more traditional team sports like basketball or baseball, or using what they call the "fitness room" where students use a video game console to play games that get their blood pumping.

"When I tell them we're going to the fitness room, they run," she said. "They're making my life easier because they're enjoying themselves and I don't have to harp on them -- 'let's get dressed, let's participate' -- because they want to do this."

She says she's even seen some significant role reversals as a result of using technology to teach phys ed.

"A lot of the non-stereotypical-jock-type students -- or non-athletic students -- are far superior in it than the athletes," she said. "So it's great because now they are shining in a gym program where they normally would not even want to dress."

Kupchick says the program has been so successful that many students purchase home versions of the games and devices to use on their own time.