JOGO and How it is a Great Idea

One of the projects that stood out to me was the JOGO, or the wristband that keeps track of children's physical activity. I think that this group did a great job of explaining the issue and stating how their product would be beneficial in today's society. I appreciate the fact that they did focus on kids and how fixing the problem early can eliminate larger problems later in their life. The statistics they presented were startling to me as well. There is a significant percentage of children that are overweight and obese and this can create problems for themselves and their future children. Being overweight can lead to heart attacks, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. If this doesn't motivate a person to get healthy, I don't know what will. To keep kids healthy today, we need to get them away from all the technological distractions that are readily available to them. This wrist band encourages that by having parents set a goal for the kids and the kids wanting to achieve that goal. It is like a game and kids always want to win. The other aspect of the JOGO that makes it different from other exercise tools is that the parents do have the control over the set goals; these are recommended by a doctor. Having different goals and different settings makes sense because every kid can't operate at a similar level of physical exercise. The way in which parents can monitor the kids activity is viable and can be applied to any kid who needs to get their allotted amount of movement. The one criticism that I saw was that kids who do were this could be labeled as the 'fat kids.' Of course, once this was widespread that wouldn't be a problem, but it could affect some young people wearing it. They could once again be ridiculed by their peers for being the way they are. It is hard to loose weight in the midst of peers making fun of you. This project also really resonated with me on a personal level. When I was younger, I was overweight and it is a struggle to get better. I had to find a way to motivate myself to loose weight and not do it for someone else. It was hard, but I lost about 35 pounds. The reward was great when I began to realize that I did this for me and got healthy, but I believe if I had a device like this, I could have done even more. This app and device fixes this problem of not having the drive to get healthy and I really appreciate that. There is nothing harder than accepting that you are overweight and that something needs to be done about it. I thought that this device is a great way to encourage kids and adults for that matter, that exercise is good and a necessity to a long, healthy, and happy life.