The U.S. federal government has invested millions of dollars into creating a video game about a nightmare 'fat town' where everyone is overweight in an effort to promote healthy eating among kids, The Washington Free Beacon has learned.
The game, titled "Escape from Diab," takes place in a town called Diab where an evil ruler named King Etes forces everyone to eat junk food. The streets are filled with "vending towers" that offer free food like "Lard Chips, Creamy Cakes, Butter Breads and Etes Burgers," according to the game's website.
Computer gaming company Archimage, Inc. received nearly $10 million in grants from The National Institutes of Health to develop the games. Video games are a valuable tool in the fight against childhood obesity because they can engage children long enough to communicate important messages about nutrition, the feds say.
"With the increasing rates of child obesity and diabetes, innovative programs are needed that capture children's attention and permit behavior change messages to get through," reads one of the NIH grants, which were given from 2003 to 2008. "Serious video games with their immersive stories offer one such promising alternative."
The main character of the video game, an "inner city youth" named Deejay, gets stuck in Diab when he accidentally falls through the floor of an abandoned building, according to the game's website.
"He finds new friends and agrees to help them prepare for their escape to the legendary Golden City, using everything he has learned about nutrition and exercise from his track coach," the website reads. "Deejay's arrival has been noted by the despotic King Etes who will stop at nothing to capture him."
The kids have to eat enough healthy food in order to escape the "fat" nightmare.
Back in real life, the video game was actually tested on about 100 children between ages 10 and 12, The Washington Free Beacon reported. Results showed the "Escape from Diab" game had an impact- the amount of fruits and vegetables kids were eating increased by 0.67 servings.
But the same results showed the video game was not conducive to increasing physical activity in children.
