Tom Ivan's
The government has launched a new anti-obesity campaign promoting active gaming among children as a means of keeping fit and healthy.
The Department of Health's new TV campaign depicts a number of ways for children to get the recommended 60 minutes a day of exercise, including playing active videogames.
"Active videogames, where kids need to jump up and down or dance about as part of the game, are a great way to get kids moving more," Dawn Primarolo, the minister for public health, told the Guardian.
"Little bits of activity like this, throughout the day can easily add up to the 60 active minutes kids need. But our survey shows that at the moment our kids just aren't getting up and about enough."
The move marks a U-turn by the government, following the March release of a Change4Life ad which implied that playing games could lead to an early death.
The print ad in question, which was created by the Department of Health in association with Cancer Research, The British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK, depicted a young boy sitting indoors holding what looked like a PlayStation pad beneath the words 'Risk an early death. Just do nothing.'
