Technology to Improve Kids' Physical Fitness

I arrived early to a recent National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball game and immediately noticed the oddity of players on both teams, in addition to the three referees, all wearing the same bright red t-shirts during their warm-up period in place of their regular pregame attire. I took out my phone and Googled "NBA FIT," which was emblazoned on the shirts, to learn that this was part of the NBA's Live Healthy Week presented by Kaiser Permanente. The goal of this special week dedicated to fitness and healthy living had three simple pillars: be active, eat healthy and play together.

What a great idea I thought. As a father, I find myself often lamenting that my children's generation doesn't play outside as much as we did as kids. There are, quite simply, too many distractions competing for their time. If they're not playing X-Box or Sony Playstation, their faces are staring at the glowing screens of their iPad or smartphone. I've long been thinking of a way to capitalize on the youngest generation's love affair with technology while also encouraging them to be more active.

This mashup of technology and fitness has been successfully generated by the newly formed sports and entertainment company Day 6 Sports Group, based in Los Angeles. This company is teaming up with the NBA to re-launch Backyard Sports, a series of digital games starring pro athletes as kid versions of themselves. After originally debuting in 1997 by Atari, the Backyard Sports brand will now be available in mobile game form for smartphones and tablets, making them even more accessible for today's generation of tech-savvy kids.