WMBD/WYZZ TV - PEORIA -- A new fitness program combines video games with exercise.

Riverplex in Peoria introduces Exergaming, a program to get the unmotivated, motivated. Exergame Fitness uses interactive games to keep kids moving. Organizers say with the alarming rise in childhood obesity, it was imperative to find a way to pair the popularity of technology with health. Kids are so wrapped up in the game, they don't even realize they're improving their health.

Carl Cannon with CHOICES and the Park District, says, "The only exergaming room of its type in the nation, and it played in Peoria first. So if I had advice for parents this Christmas, tell them to get rid of those things you do with your hands and have them start using their legs, their hearts and their minds.

Sixth grader, Timesha Bailey, was one of the first students who got to try to program and when asked what she'll tell her classmates about it, she says, "You all need to come next time, it is so much fun! You're really in the game, fighting people, it's so fun!"

Organizers say Exergaming isn't just a great way to get in shape, but the games also improve hand-eye coordination and engages the mind and body together in active problem solving.

Kids from the CHOICES program are among the first to be able to use the Exergaming program.