Penn researchers gamified walking to boost heart health, and won a $25 million grant

University of Pennsylvania researchers recently won a $25 million grant to see if they can fight heart disease with a game that promotesa healthy behavior — walking.

The intervention works by tracking how many steps a person takes each day and assigning points and levels accordingly. Participants get text messages with their daily tally.

The Penn team previously tested the concept in a clinical trial with 1,062 patients and found the approach increased participants’ activity by an average of nearly 2,000 steps daily.

Now, with funding from the nonprofit Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, they hope to show that their game cannot only promote exercise, but can alsoreduce the incidence of heart events.