Escape room: towards a healthier lifestyle through gamification
A serious game for high school students
A healthy lifestyle contributes to good health, but young people do not exercise enough and do not eat enough healthy food. Therefore, research has been conducted by The Hague University of Applied Sciences in the Food Boost Challenge among more than 1000 high school students. The students were asked what entices them to eat more fruits and vegetables. Results show that high school students like to think about this topic in a playful and interactive way.
Serious gaming
Games can be fun and helpful at the same time in learning and understanding various subjects. Some games, called 'serious games', are specifically designed to not only provide fun, but also to impart knowledge or skills. Such games can be effective in influencing eating behavior.
Objective
The Centre of Expertise Health Innovation investigates, together with THUAS students and high school students, how to work towards a healthy lifestyle through gamification. The aim is to connect this with the living environment of adolescents and their education.
Target audience
The focus is on the lower levels of pre-vocational secondary education (VMBO), but the serious game is designed in such a way that it can be customized for all high school students. This allows the game to be implemented at every high school in the Netherlands and also in other places where young people gather.
Approach
The project consists of three parts:
1. Developing a game that addresses themes such as healthy eating, exercise, sustainability (such as food waste), and lifestyle.
2. Carrying out a pilot of the serious game at several high schools.
3. Evaluation, reporting, and dissemination of the results.
Duration
The total duration is two years and lasts until the end of 2024.
Education
Various courses at The Hague University of Applied Sciences are involved in this project, such as: Communication and Multimedia Design (NL/EN), HBO-ICT, and Nutrition & Dietetics.
Team
Diana Eijgermans
Wendy Scholtes-Bos
Collaboration
Marieke Battjes-Fries (Louis Bolk Instituut)
Olivier Hokke (Game Tailors)
Bowie Derwort (Game Tailors)
Funding
The project is funded by Gemeente Den Haag and Gemeente Westland.
Contact
Diana Eijgermans (d.g.m.eijgermans@hhs.nl)
Wendy Scholtes-Bos (w.scholtes-bos@hhs.nl)