Get your game on with good nutrition Published Jan. 19, 2010 By Lt. Col. Karen E. Hawkins DeCA dietitian FORT LEE, Va. -- Children love to play Internet games, and promoting healthy choices through gaming is a great way to teach them. With childhood obesity continuing to rise, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has created a contest to accept fully developed Web-based games in the spring of 2010. This challenge is open to entrepreneurs, software developers and students to design a creative and educational game targeted at children, especially "tweens," aged 9-12. The Web-based games will help motivate kids to learn about healthy dietary habits and the importance of eating more nutritional foods. So if you are a game designer or want to be one and possibly win a prize, go to http://www.MyPyramid.gov for the latest details. The Web Games for Healthy Kids Contest is the first part of the Innovations for Healthy Kids Challenge created by the USDA. This challenge is designed to address the issue of childhood obesity through community efforts and partnership. Using the USDA data, Web games need to be designed to include educational messages that emphasize one or more key nutrition concepts from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (http://www.DietaryGuidelines.gov) and the MyPyramid Food Guidance System (http://www.MyPyramid.gov). Who can enter the contest? Applicants must be U.S. citizens. The contest is not open to employees of the USDA or the White House, or their families. General nutrition topics to include in the game: · Teach kids to eat more whole grains. · Eat more fruits and vegetables. · Drink more low- or non-fat milk. · Choose lean sources of protein (meat and beans). · Making food group education fun. · Understanding calories is important. · Increasing foods with high nutrition value and decreasing amounts of solid fats and added sugars ("extra" calories), and decreasing amounts of sodium. · Identifying and consuming proper portion size. · Being more physically active is important. · Balancing physical activity and food intake is important. For more information about making healthy choices, visit Ask the Dietitian on http://www.commissaries.com and post your questions on the DeCA Dietitian Forum. Be sure to look for other useful information in the Dietitian's Voice archive. Sign up with the DeCA Dietitian on www.twitter.com and get messages sent to your cell phone today. For delicious recipes, check out Kay's Kitchen. And to enjoy all your commissary has to offer, sign up for the Commissary Connection. - DeCA- About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Authorized patrons purchase items at cost plus a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. Shoppers save an average of more than 30 percent on their purchases compared to commercial prices - savings worth about $3,300 annually for a family of four. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America's military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.