Kurbo Enlists Pokémon GO to Help Fight Childhood Obesity
Palo Alto, CA (PRWEB) July 12, 2016 -- Kurbo, an app that helps kids, teens and families eat better and exercise more, has added the mobile game phenomenon Pokémon GO as a trackable form of exercise, the company announced today.
The Kurbo app encourages kids, teens and their families to eat healthier and be more active by enabling them to easily track what they are eating and how much they are exercising. The goal is for users to eventually track the recommended 60 minutes of exercise per day. Kurbo already incorporates many fun games and activities designed for kids.
“By including Pokémon GO as a form of exercise, we will encourage kids to move more, and see how exercise can be fun and exciting,” says Kurbo CEO and co-founder Joanna Strober.
Pokémon GO, a free-to-play augmented reality mobile game, encourages users to “get on your feet and step outside to find and catch wild Pokémon. Explore cities and towns around where you live and even around the globe to capture as many Pokémon as you can.” As users move around, their smartphone will vibrate to let them know they are near a Pokémon which they can chase and catch.
The game’s reliance on walking around and running to catch Pokémon make it a fun and easy way for kids to exercise. It also defies the usual stereotype that videogames are only played sitting on the couch.
“My kids walked more this past weekend than they have in a year,” says Strober, who is also the mother of three children. “They cannot play Pokémon by driving, only by walking, so they have been willing to walk everywhere.”
About Kurbo Health
Kurbo Health provides the first mobile health-coaching solution designed specifically to help children and families lose weight and develop smarter eating habits. It is based on one of the most advanced weight-management programs from Stanford University and has been proven effective in helping kids lose weight and create healthy habits. Kurbo kids and families receive weekly video consults and goal-setting with a trained professional coach via Skype or FaceTime, a mobile app designed to help them track food and exercise on their smartphone, and daily support from a team of experts through emails, text messages and in-app games and videos. Kurbo is backed by venture funding from top-tier investors, including Signia Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Data Collective, Promus Ventures and Rock Health. For more information, please visit http://www.kurbo.com.
Aimee Grove, Smitten Communications, +1 415-706-1906, [email protected]
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