Dance Dance Revolution a Fitness-Frenzy for Teens?

Check out this article on fitness in youthwork I received from Group Magazine's Jr. High Ministry e-letter. What are your thoughts? Agree? Disagree?

Steve

Walk This Way
Those of you in the state of West Virginia may see a reduction in the size of your youth group—pants size, that is. All of the 157 middle schools in the state will be getting Xbox consoles and copies of the video game Dance Dance Revolution (DDR). The game features a special mat with arrows, and players attempt to follow the on-screen instructions by stomping on the appropriate arrow. This is all accompanied by a soundtrack featuring techno, Latin, and ’80s dance music. I’ve seen this played in an arcade setting, and people really work up a sweat doing this. The game isn’t intended to replace P.E. and health classes, but rather to provide more options for a generation of kids more comfortable playing video games than soccer games. West Virginia consistently ranks as one of the top three most-obese states, so they’re going on the offensive. So will this spark a Revolution among the country’s “growing” youth?...

Make sure you’re occasionally playing games that have the kids run around like maniacs. I know, a roomful of sweaty junior highers smells like a locker room, but you knew the dangers when you signed up for this. Statistics from the American Obesity Association and the American Heart Association show that one out of every three kids is considered overweight or obese. That’s staggering and scary. So think twice before taking the “easiest” route when it comes to food.