Mindlessly eating can be one of the biggest causes of weight gain in people, and it is somewhat understandable as food is just so darn yummy. However, it is an increasingly big problem that needs to be addressed.
If you search mindless eating on Google you will find numerous links to the Mindless Eating website which is based on the popular book with the same name by Dr. Brian Wansink. It is in collaboration with Dr. Wansink that the Mindless Eating Challenge mobile game is being developed.
It is based on similar games where you have an animal or plant that you must take care of as it grows and develops. As you make healthy choices for your character it grows big and strong and healthy.
The idea behind the game is to teach young people better eating habits so that they will make good choices and grow up healthy.
It was originally developed as a J2ME version, a mobile-optimized web app, and there is an iPhone app currently in development.
There are two major goals of the application. The first is to help kids and teens improve their health which is obviously worthwhile. The second goal is to better understand how games can be used to help influence good behaviors. While there is already some research into influencing behaviors through games little has been done with an emphasis on improving health.
This is definitely an exciting app as it combines something kids love, playing games, with something that is essential to their health and well-being. As this game continues to be developed it will be interesting to see how other developers follow suit and come up with their own versions.
