From Mercy Health Plans HealthMATTERS:
To combat the growing trend of child obesity, the U.S. government has launched the MyPyramid Blast Off Game for children ages 6 to 11. The game challenges kids to fuel a rocket ship with enough healthy foods to reach Planet Power.
Players have a smorgasbord of choices, including breakfast burritos, carrot sticks, cookies and raisins. Each food's calorie count and food group appear on screen. If the food contains empty calories and doesn't fall into one of these healthy food groups – fruit, vegetables, grains, milk, meat and beans – the computer says so. Since the rocket must receive a certain number of servings from each food group, all adding up to exactly 1,800 calories, children must experiment with different food choices.
To charge the rocket's battery, players also select an hour of activity, such as soccer or baseball. Once the rocket has enough fuel and battery power, it can blast off.
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