Effects of game-based childhood obesity prevention framework among preschool children
This research was carried out to validate a framework of game-based childhoodobesity prevention. A mobile game titled Fight Obesity 2.0 was produced through afive-step gamification approach as an instance of the prevention framework. Thegame incorporated constructive alignment of intended prevention...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | thesis |
| Language: | eng |
| Published: |
2018
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ir.upsi.edu.my/detailsg.php?det=6314 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | This research was carried out to validate a framework of game-based childhoodobesity prevention. A mobile game titled Fight Obesity 2.0 was produced through afive-step gamification approach as an instance of the prevention framework. Thegame incorporated constructive alignment of intended prevention outcomes andstructural game elements. The lean production strategy was deployed to produce aviable serious game with its paratextual materials. The design of the game wasvalidated by 38 game designers through a playtesting session, while the contentknowledge was validated by two pediatricians, one from China and another inMalaysia. The game also passed the age rating test under the International Age RatingCoalition. The effects of Fight Obesity 2.0 in actual prevention context wasinvestigated through a non-equivalent control group pre-test / post-test quasiexperiment.Edumetric tests were conducted with 60 children at the kindergarten inthe National Child Development Research Centre. After having a month of exposureto game playing, the experimental group performed significantly better in the post-testas compared to their performance in the pre-test and the performance of the controlgroup in the post-test. In terms of gender difference, female children performedsignificantly better than the male. Twenty-one null hypotheses were tested to examinethe effects of the game upon childrens food preferences, conception on therelationship between obesity and physical exercise, and the danger of obesity amongchildren. In conclusion, the game was found to be effective in changing the childrensfood preference, from liking unhealthy food to disliking unhealthy food. These resultswere verified by findings revealed through a one-week non-participant observation inthe kindergarten and semi-structured interviews conducted with the kindergartensupervisor. The implication of this research suggest that a serious game (designed anddeveloped based on the framework game-based childhood obesity prevention) canmake significant positive effects in changing the food preferences among preschoolchildren. However, further studies would be needed to examine how the frameworkcan afford preschool children to comprehend the relationship between physicalactivities and obesity, and the danger of childhood obesity. |
|---|