健康のためのゲーム専門誌が出る

健康向上に使えるデジタルゲームの専門誌がついに誕生！って本気かよ？

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. announces the launch of Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications (G4H) , a new, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the development, use, and applications of game technology for improving physical and mental health and well-being. The Journal breaks new ground as the first to address this emerging, widely-recognized, and increasingly adopted area of healthcare. Published bi-monthly, Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications will be released in fall 2011.

Games are rapidly becoming an important tool for improving health behaviors ranging from healthy lifestyle habits and behavior modification to self-management of illnesses and chronic conditions to motivating and supporting physical activity. Commonly used applications include mobile phone-delivered games that track daily exercise and “exergames” that require physical exertion in order to play (e.g., on platforms such as the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation Move, and Xbox Kinect). Games are also increasingly used to train healthcare professionals in methods for diagnosis, medical procedures, patient monitoring, as well as for responding to epidemics and natural disasters.

アメリカでは子供の肥満が問題になって危険なくらい肥満の子供は親から引き離しても管理すべきだという意見もある。それからいけばゲームをまじめに研究しようというのはまだ穏やかなほうだな。金にもなるし。DDRやWiiFitが米国糖尿病学会で取り上げられたこともあるくらいだからこの分野への日本の貢献はますます重要になる？？