For the past five months, 10-year-old Andrew Abelow has been working for a new Xbox 360. Along the way, the Morganville boy has lost five pounds.
Abelow is no couch potato, withering away while awaiting his new toy. He has been earning rewards for staying active. His exercise is monitored by a S2H Replay wristband, which allots points redeemable for prizes based on physical activity. “I’ve been walking more,” Abelow says, “and I’ve started playing basketball.” A fourth-grader at Marlboro Elementary School, he has racked up 1,980 points toward the Xbox—which will cost him 9,600 points.
“S2H motivates people to be active,” says Seth A. Tropper, CEO of North Brunswick-based Switch2Health, which markets the wristbands.
Last December, Bergen County Technical High physical education teacher Doug Naccara distributed S2H Replays to 100 freshmen as part of a pilot program with Switch2Health. Even Naccara has gotten into the act. “I’m saving for a Nintendo Wii system and am about 3,000 points—or 50 activity hours—away,” he says.
S2H Replay rewards points for every 60 cumulative minutes of exercise—from dancing to jogging. (The wristband does not track the intensity of the exercise, just the time spent at an activity.) Prizes are in limited quantities and range from music and ringtone downloads (200-300 points) to a PlayStation 3 (12,000 points).
The S2H Replay kit includes the blue wristband and module for $19.95 and colored replacement bands are $2.99. Go to s2h.com.