A screenshot from one of the apps in the Apps for Healthy Kids contest, Hungry Hiker Build-A-Meal.

Let's Move! Goes High Tech

Apps For Healthy Kids contest winners announced

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Kid Reporter Jonas Hosmer talks to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack at the White House in Washington, D.C., recently. (Photo courtesy Jonas Hosmer)

Can playing cell phone apps actually make you healthier? The answer to this question is usually no, but the Apps For Healthy Kids contest now makes this possible.

Winners of a competition sponsored by First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign to end childhood obesity were announced at the White House recently. Apps For Healthy Kids called for game designers to come up with phone applications focused on how to teach kids to make healthy eating choices.

"This competition allowed us to harness the combined creativity of game developers, local youth, and adults to work collaboratively to produce fun, innovative games and tools that promote healthy lifestyles," said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. "Today, we are honored to award the talent of our nation's innovators while encouraging nutritious food choices and physical activity."

The competition began in March. Software developers, families, universities, teachers, and companies submitted 95 apps and tools to help kids and families make healthier choices.

One entry included a game called Smash Your Food, where you estimate the sugar levels of foods, then check the accuracy of your guess. In the game Fitter Critters, you chose different foods that make your virtual critter more fit and healthy. In Hungry Hiker, you build a meal to fuel your hiker to the top of a mountain. Food Buster, which got the Most Popular Award, asks you to carefully stack food items so you don't break the scale.

The grand prize went to a group of college students from University of Southern California who created Trainer, a game that challenges kids to train alongside their virtual pet.

"Citizen solvers like those in the teams being honored today are the heart of the Obama administration's commitment to increase the use of prizes and challenges to solve tough problems," said U.S. Chief Technology Officer Amish Chopra.

To experience the winning games and apps yourself, log on to the Apps for Healthy Kids website.

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