The Yoobot game lets children make mini-versions of themselves byuploading photographs and choosing their gender, hair colour and otherfeatures. They can then choose what food their character eats and theexercise that he or she does, and see how this affects his or herlifespan and well-being.
The Yoobots talk to their creators throughout the day using SMS ande-mail, complaining when they get hungry, asking for junk food andtrying to make themselves a part of their users' lives.
The launch of the Yoobot coincides with a survey of 1,100 children bythe British Heart Foundation which found that seven out of 10 childrenaged eight to 15 did not know that a shortened life was the worstconsequence of eating badly, and that 45 per cent thought that the mostdangerous side effects of junk food are weight gain, rotting teeth,spots or unpopularity.
Mike Knapton, BHF director of prevention and care, said, 'Today'sjunk-food generation can't see beyond the burger box. They are missingthe fact that eating unhealthily can have dire consequences for theirlong-term health. The Yoobot is an innovative way for children toexplore the effects of eating a diet of junk food. The clock is tickingon the obesity time bomb and it is now more important than ever forchildren to be educated enough to take control of their diets.'
FURTHER INFORMATION
www.yoobot.co.uk
