TODAY'S NEWS
West Virginia students test Dance Dance Revolution in health class.
(By Joe Sadlek -- Associated Press)
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Dance Revolution Hits West Virginia Schools
· Okay, kids in West Virginia, it's time to get DANCING.
West Virginia has decided to deal with the problem of obesity in kids by putting the video game Dance Dance Revolution in all 157 public middle schools in the state.
The game -- where players have to tap their feet on mats in the same order as appears on a TV screen -- was tested in 20 schools last spring. Teachers found that kids who didn't like sports got into the game and were more likely to get moving.
DDR won't replace PE, school officials said. It's just another way of trying to solve the problem of a growing number of kids being overweight. In 1980 about 7 percent of kids ages 6 to 11 weighed more than they should for their age and size. In 2002 that number had more than doubled to 16 percent, government statistics show.
West Virginia has a worse problem than the rest of the country. Nearly 46 percent of fifth-graders there were overweight. Being overweight as a kid can cause health problems as adults, doctors say.
West Virginia hopes to expand the program so that high school and elementary school kids will get dancing, too.
