Zamzee Launches Group Program Curriculum to Make Physical Activity More Fun for Kids

Zamzee has launched the Zamzee for Groups Program Curriculum to help instructors incorporate new technologies in various health programs and boost physical activity among kids.

Zamzee has announced the launch of the Zamzee for Groups Program Curriculum to help instructors and group leaders quickly start using Zamzee in health education and to implement new technologies in health programs to make exercise more fun. With the new program, Zamzee, a social enterprise that focuses on using advanced technologies to boost children's physical activity, has created a powerful tool for obesity intervention, one that can improve children's fitness levels and overall health.

The Zamzee for Groups Program Curriculum is laid out in a lesson-plan style format and contains a complete syllabus designed to boost physical activity. For added effect, it can be used with the Zamzee activity tracker and the company's motivational website. The Program Curriculum can be taught by any instructor using Zamzee for Groups. Other than lesson plans, it includes active games, awards, and classroom handouts that can motivate children to work out and make exercise and various weight management programs more enjoyable for them.

Zamzee has already proved to be successful with children. A research conducted by hopeLab and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has revealed that children using Zamzee increased their physical activity levels by 59 percent compared to those in a control group in a randomised, controlled study. Other positive outcomes of the study included improved levels of LDL cholesterol and glycated hemoglobin, both of which are risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Kimberly Young, health educator and lead collaborator on the Program Curriculum, said, "We developed this curriculum to make it easy for group leaders to quickly start teaching Zamzee and maximize its impact in program settings. I saw more than a 50 percent increase in program completion rates when I used Zamzee with my own students. This curriculum makes it easier for other health educators to achieve the same, or even better, results."

Weight management and childhood obesity intervention programs are becoming increasingly widespread across the United States because obesity rates have risen to an alarming degree in recent decades. In creating the Program Curriculum, Zamzee hopes to make it easier for instructors to incorporate new technologies into these programs to make them more fun for children.

Lance Henderson, Zamzee CEO, said, "We use game-based technology to improve health outcomes because we believe that if you lead with fun, health will follow. The new Program Curriculum provides a framework that makes it easy for health educators to implement our research-proven technology and make their programs more fun and appealing for today’s kids. Engaging kids through fun technology like Zamzee can increase the overall impact of the program on kids’ health."

Zamzee was founded in 2010 by HopeLab, a non-profit organisation dedicated to research on the use of technology in improving children's health. HopeLab continues to provide support to Zamzee with ongoing studies.

A free preview of the Zamzee for Groups Program Curriculum is available at zamzee.com/curriculum.