The Creative Challenge of the Timoneers Challenge

by Liz Henderson on May 19, 2010

Thanks to the great insight and research of people both at Worldways and at Nemours, we were able to create The Timoneers Challenge, a game that engages children and trains them to form better habits around healthy eating and physical activity. But, the strategy behind the game was only half the work, because just giving a kid a game that’s meant to make them more healthy, while exciting to us, isn’t very exciting to them. So, we had a challenge, how do you make a game to make kids healthier, kid-fun?

Luckily, we already had the lively cast of the Timoneers to help us out. Using the Timoneers’ existing themes we created an Adventure Guide that is filled with engaging stories, pledges and pirate-lingo to get kids excited about facing the healthy challenges ahead. Created to look like an old, tattered book the guide has worn and whimsical feeling that creates a sense of mystery – almost like an ancient treasure map. In the guide, children are asked to take the helm of the ship in setting their course towards health. While the Timoneers formerly led children through their adventures in mini-episodes, which appeared on TV and are also available online, in The Timoneers Challenge, the child is put in charge and the Timoneers play a support to the child’s imagination. In this way, the guide serves as the child’s passport to a world of healthy adventure.

Within the passport, kids are given helpful tips and tricks to keep them on a course towards health. EachTimoneer character is associated with one of the components of Nemours’ 5-2-1-Almost None healthy lifestyle message. So, each challenge in the adventure guide is linked with the associative character. In doing this, we are not only reinforcing the 5-2-1-Almost None message in every challenge, we are creating additional incentive for the child to actually try and complete their missions, because it gives them the sense that these characters are right there with them on their journey. In addition to character reinforcement, we used language and imagination to help make things as simple as trying a new fruit or vegetable into a great adventure.

The resulting Timoneers Challenge Adventure Guide is something that we at Worldways, the people at Nemours and parents everywhere can be excited about and proud of. More than a challenge to become healthy, The Timoneers Challenge is an adventure for children’s health and imagination.

Look for The Timoneers Challenge in the coming weeks online at www.MightyTimoneers.com.

Tagged as: Childhood obesity, entertainment education, games, Nemours, The Timoneers Challenge, Worldways

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TV Food Advertising Contributes to Obesity

by Andrea Hill on August 24, 2009

A recent study by Yale University has found that TV Food Advertising Increases Snacking and Potential Weight Gain in Children and Adults. The study found that exposure to food advertising increased overall consumption, even for foods that had not been present in the adverts.

5-2-1 Almost NoneI found this study particularly interesting as it relates to
the 5-2-1-Almost None Formula promoted by one of our clients, Nemours Health and Prevention Services.

According to information on the Mighty Timoneers website:

The percentage of overweight youth has more than tripled in the last 20 years. About 35% of children in the U.S. and 37% in Delaware are overweight or obese.

Nemours has taken a leading role to help people understand the causes and health implications of obesity and the best ways to promote healthier lifestyles among children and families. Our “formula for a healthy lifestyle” is 5-2-1-Almost None

5-2-1-Almost none

  • Eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day<
  • watching two or fewer hours of screen time a day
  • Getting one or more hours of physical activity a day
  • And drinking almost no sugary beverages

At first glance, the Yale study may simple be pointing out the importance of substituting food advertisements for other types of ads. Yet another way to avoid exposure to such advertisements is simply to turn the television off completely. The 5-2-1-Almost None formula recommends limiting ‘screen time’ (television as well as computer) to two hours a day. Not only will this limit exposure to these ads, it may result in the adoption of more active pastimes.

Nemours Worldways ad limiting screen time

To learn more about our childhood obesity work with Nemours Health and Prevention Services, you can review the case studies for two campaigns: The Mighty Timoneers and Kids Can’t Do It Alone.

Tagged as: Childhood obesity, healthy people, Nemours

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The Delaware Approach to Combating Childhood Obesity (Part 1)

by Mark Marosits on August 19, 2009

Originally published on 3/16/2007

The Healthy People/Healthy Places Framework was designed to be applied to myriad scenarios. Its application to childhood obesity is currently being fielded in Delaware a complement to the overarching work of Nemours Health & Prevention Services (NHPS).

NHPS is the health promotion and preventive services division of Nemours, one of the nation’s preeminent children’s healthcare systems. In early 2004, NHPS set the bold goal of making Delaware’s children the healthiest in the nation. A key component of that goal was addressing the challenge of childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity and the attendant health risks have reached epidemic proportions. Most of the efforts to reverse these alarming trends prescribe interventions in the areas of healthy eating and/or physical activity. There is some evidence-based best practice with regard to the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity. However, most interventions studied were not specifically focused on childhood obesity. The connections to be drawn are intuitive and many public health organizations are still left struggling with the question of, “How do we reach the greatest number of children in the shortest period of time with the most efficient and sustainable use of resources to combat childhood obesity and promote healthier lifestyles?”

The NHPS strategy has many facets, including a social marketing campaign based on the People/Places framework. Currently, Ed Maibach and I are proudly serving as advisors to NHPS, and Worldways is in the midst of helping to implement the statewide program to combat childhood obesity. Healthy People/Healthy Places has proven to be very relevant by: fostering an understanding of the dynamics of childhood obesity from both a behavioral and environmental perspective; providing a framework for codifying prospective interventions and determining the best mix of people- vs. place-based strategies; and determining the types of marketing, communications, program, policy, and environmental initiatives most likely to result in change.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be talking about the People/Places Framework, its application to challenging childhood obesity, key strategies evolved in Delaware and other places, and opportunities for future applications.

Tagged as: Childhood obesity, delaware, framework, healthy people, Healthy Places, Nemours

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The Mighty Timoneers win another Telly.

by Larry Clark on June 18, 2009

The animation/live action spot reminds parents that The Mighty Timoneers can make it much easier to help their kids eat healthy and be physically active.

Go to mightytimoneers.com to learn more about The Mighty Timoneers, and how these 4 pirates have changed the way children look at healthy living.

Help Around the House

Tagged as: animation, Award Winning, cartoons, cause creative, Childhood obesity, Children, Eat Healthy, Nemours, Nemours Health and Prevention, Physically Active, Social Markeing Campaign, Telly Awards, The Mighty Timoneers, Worldways Social Marketing

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