In an effort to combat the rapidly-growing problem of obesity in Mexican children, PepsiCo has created a handheld game that teaches kids about eating properly. The irony is that the American Beverage Association recently pointed the finger at videogames as a leading cause of childhood obesity.
It seems that Mexican children are particularly obsessed with soda, perhaps because 80% of schools lack access to drinking water, and as a result have become increasingly overweight. Obesity rates in kids aged 5 to 11 have risen 40% since 2000.
PepsiCo, the folks who make the soda that the kids guzzle on a daily basis, have developed a tamagotchi-like game to help teach kids about the importance of balancing exercise with food consumption.
In the game, called Live Healthily, kids must care for a virtual creature called a nutrin, helping it decide what to eat and when to play. Visits to the doctor let kids know how well their nutrin is faring.
Why not just replace the sugary drinks and salty snacks sold in schools with more healthy items? According to Jorge Meyer, PepsiCo's VP of corporate affairs in Mexico, "Mexicans haven't wanted to buy them."
The long-term impact of Live Healthily is questionable unless the kids have as much access to healthy food and drink as they do the junk, but Meyer says that PepsiCo takes its role in the situation seriously. "We don't want to be seen as the guilty ones. We want to be seen as part of the solution."
Pepsi tackles childhood obesity [Guardian Unlimited]
