Play Video Games, Lose Weight?

NEAT-o Games Developer Links Activity to Gaming

If you're hoping to lose weight, but can't stand traditional workouts like jogging or aerobics, University of Houston computer science professor Ioannis Pavlidis says he's developed a more entertaining way to exercise: the NEAT-o games.

NEAT-o, which stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, involves physical activity that isn't conscious exercise but still burns calories and builds stronger, healthier bodies: activities like taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work, walking the dog an extra time each day or making trips to the copy machine more often.

Pavlidis and his research assistants, Yuichi Fujiki and Kostas Kazakos, have developed a way to translate all those little daily "non-exercises" into video games. Different games can be powered by different movements, from foot-tapping to running.

For example, in a race game that Pavlidis is testing, the more active the player is, the faster and farther the video-game avatar races around the track.

Still in the testing stage, NEAT-o games can be played on any hand-held personal digital assistant (PDA). Game players wear a lightweight sensor that detects their various movements, then transmits that motion data to the PDA wirelessly. Game action then moves in real-time in response to the player's activities.

According to Pavlidis' research, one computer science student who tested the game system lost 40 pounds in five months.

"We hope the games can increase physical activity, add a dosage of everyday fun and embed NEAT in the modern lifestyle," Pavlidis said. "We expect an almost 'addictive' behavior resulting from this game, much like the habit of playing solitaire during breaks is an everyday ritual for many people. Because of the way we live today, people are sitting all the time, so moving more is always a good thing."

In addition to the racing game, Pavlidis has added a NEAT-o version of Sudoko, the wildly popular numbers-based logic game that originated in Japan. The PDA version assigns players points based on their level of physical activity; the more points players accumulate, the more squares on the puzzle they are able to fill in.