The author is a freelancer based just outside St. John's, N.L.

At Bulldog Interactive Fitness For Youth, a Canadian chain of fitness clubs, kids pedal bikes hooked up to PlayStation racing games, use rowing machines to escape killer fish and try out their moves on interactive dance machines.

Childhood obesity has been called a national disaster, with physical inactivity — compounded by young people putting in numerous hours a week in front of the TV or computer — one of the main contributors.

But what if screen time could be combined with exercise and healthy eating? Would kids work out if they could do it while playing video games?

That's the premise behind Bulldog Interactive Fitness For Youth, a growing Canadian chain of fitness clubs where kids pedal bikes hooked up to PlayStation racing games, use rowing machines to escape killer fish and try out their moves on the DDR Dance Machines.

Bulldog Interactive Fitness, headquartered in Dartmouth, N.S., opened its first gym for kids in 2005 with the idea of using video games as the exercise-enticing carrot. It now has franchises in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Saskatchewan, with new franchises planned for Calgary, Richmond, B.C., and Boca Raton, Fla.

"There are a few kids here who want to lose weight," says Shelley Moore, who opened a Bulldog Fitness franchise in St. John's, N.L., with her husband Andrew on Sept. 15 this year. But she says the key is that "even kids who hate gym" are attracted by the mix of fitness and fun.

"You see kids you know don't have a lot of self-confidence and who don't participate in school, but here they feel comfortable and love to take part," Moore says.

Get moving on idea

The Moores, who have two small children, used to live in Scotland where there was a wealth of indoor activities for kids. However, when they returned home, Shelley found the situation very different.

Bulldog gyms use video games as the carrot to entice kids to exercise.

So when she heard about Bulldog Fitness, she decided to put her kinesiology degree to use and apply for a franchise. The initial fee for a franchise is $24,900 and the total cost of opening a facility ranges from about $250,000 to $400,000 depending on construction costs.

As well as the usual recreational features of a traditional gym, there are other types of youth-oriented activities as well. There's an after-school homework program supervised by Shelley's parents, who are retired teachers, and the gym also books birthday parties.

Bulldog Fitness takes aim at a growing market that is causing mounting concern among health experts.

According to recent numbers from Statistics Canada, 26 per cent of children between ages two and 17 are overweight or obese, a figure that has more than doubled over the past 25 years for young people in the 12 to 15 age group.

Experts put a large part of the blame on sedentary living and poor diet.

For instance, kids spend an average of 10 hours a week in front of the television set and another 10 hours a week in front of a computer or playing video games, according to Statistics Canada's Community Health Survey. That's 20 hours of screen time a week.

We've also become a fast-food nation, and a quick look around our neighbourhoods confirms it. While other restaurants may come and go, no one's likely to see a going-out-of-business sign popping up in front of a McDonald's outlet. Our love affair with fast food means that almost 60 per cent of kids don't eat the minimally recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables a day.

Chain takes fitness-is-fun approach

Judging by the number of books on childhood weight problems, parents are concerned.

A quick look at an online bookstore catalogue shows a staggering 240 books. Titles range from the playful sounding Teenage Waistland to the more ominous Generation Extra Large: Rescuing Our Children from the Epidemic of Obesity. There's even a Dummy's Guide to Conquering Childhood Obesity.

Bulldog's approach is to make fitness more fun than a standard adult-oriented gym workout. Its gyms are no jocks-only hangout — both athletic and non-athletic kids take full advantage of what her facility has to offer, according to Shelley Moore.

Parents and other adults aren't allowed to set foot past the smoothie bar, where only nutritious goodies are served.

A moving Treadwall, the rock-climbing-wall equivalent of a stair-climbing fitness machine, lets kids climb as high as Mount Everest if they've got the stamina. Wii consoles take the place of regular tennis courts, and there's a full resistance circuit specifically designed for kids who want a structured workout. There's even a surprisingly popular space for dodge ball and other more traditional low-tech games.

"I like the workout area because of the dance pads and the rowing machines where you escape from sharks," says Reegan Browne, a nine-year-old customer of Bulldog facility in St. John's.

But she's also aware of the underlying reason for the gym's existence. "Some kids aren't really physical and this is a great way to get healthy."

Parents take time for themselves

For parent Jennifer Stender, it's all about getting time for herself. With three kids under age 12, the family doctor found it next to impossible to get time for a decent workout in her home gym.

"I could sit them down in front of a DVD, but I don't want to," Stender says, explaining that the whole family tries to stay active. So a couple of times a week, she drops them off at The Doghouse, as the St. John's gym is familiarly called, and runs or goes home to work out in peace.

Professionally, she's confident that the workouts the kids receive won't be too strenuous for their growing bodies while still keeping them fit. And the time they spend there has produced unexpected benefits.

"My youngest comes home and gets out frozen berries from the deep freeze and some yogurt, and makes his own smoothies," she says.

So is there a downside to Bulldog Fitness? Only if you're a grownup.

"If I had a dollar for every adult who asked me when I'm opening something like this for them, I'd be a rich woman now," Shelley Moore laughs.

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