Welcome to Yoobot.co.uk! Yoobot is a free game and learning tool that the British Heart Foundation have developed to help children think more about the food they are eating and take more responsibility for their own health. The main aim of Yoobot is to encourage children to consider the long term consequences of their current food and activity choices – by offering them a chance to experiment with their future... Our game achieves this by giving each child a Yoobot – an online game character that they can make look like themselves – to look after. They are then free to set the Yoobot’s diet and exercise regime and see how the health of their Yoobot will develop over time. Having spent time choosing their diet the child should become familiar with the nutritional content of common foods as well of the implications of such choices. Overall, through allowing children to watch the future unfold before their eyes, it is hoped the game will show them the relevance of the food and lifestyle choices they make now – and encourage them to make healthier choices from an early age. Yoobot is designed to allow a child to experiment on their mini version of themselves with a range of diets and exercise regimes. The nutritional content and physical benefits of exercise are modelled on real data in order to give the experience a degree of realism. However, in order to clearly link certain actions with health implications we have exaggerated reality in order to emphasise the key points we would like users to understand. We have also had to simplify risk factors for heart disease, and to some extent alter the progression of the process of heart disease in order to not dilute the message of healthy eating and physical activity. The Yoobot does not get heart failure, or angina for instance, neither does it die from accidents, suicide or other disease processes. Overall, the British Heart Foundation has endeavoured to make Yoobot an engaging and scientifically based educational tool. Careful consideration has been taken throughout the creation of Yoobot to ensure that it is a safe and secure platform for children to learn in. Whilst seeing how the Yoobot’s health and body shape change is pivotal to the learning experience, the British Heart Foundation aim to tackle this in a sensitive way and offer links to further support and information throughout to address any concerns which may be raised. Yoobot is part of a wider drive from the British Heart Foundation to create an environment where bad food influences are minimised. In particular, we are maintaining pressure on the UK Government to stop junk food advertisers targeting children, as well as campaigning for a single system of food labelling to help parents choose healthier food options. Parents in particular are being asked to offer their support for these important initiatives through visiting www.bhf.org.uk/junkfood and undertaking a few very simple actions. If you would like any more information on any of the issues raised throughout the game please contact us on our main website. Disclaimer: Yoobot is a game based in reality but some information has been exaggerated or simplified in order to get the key messages across clearly
	The British Heart Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales (225971) and Scotland (SCO39426). Registered as a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales Number 699547. Registered office at Greater London House, 180 Hampstead Road, London NW1 7AW. Terms & conditions | Privacy Policy