The popular arcade game Dance Dance Revolution will become part of public school physical education classes in Hawai'i under an initiative to emphasize lifetime fitness activities over traditional team sports.

The state Department of Education reached a verbal agreement with game maker Konami to use "DDR" software at no cost, and the program will be launched first in high schools during the 2007-08 academic year, said David Randall, education specialist for coordinated school health.

The department hopes to have students at all of its 284 campuses dancing their way to healthier lifestyles within three years, he said.

Schools will need to obtain hardware for the video game, but many schools have game systems and TV monitors, Randall said, leaving only the DDR floor mats, which can range from $20 apiece to a couple hundred dollars for sturdier versions.

A handful of Hawai'i schools already are using heart-pumping DDR routines to engage students who normally might sit on the sidelines while more athletic classmates compete in basketball, softball or flag football.

Kalama Intermediate on Maui was one of the first, thanks to physical education teacher Leighton Nakamoto, who has been incorporating DDR in his classes for four years and was instrumental in introducing it to other Hawai'i schools. The Makawao campus also provides students with a climbing wall, balance boards and Trikkes — human-powered three-wheeled scooters — to improve their agility, balance, flexibility and strength.

"Students are way more enthusiastic about P.E.; they're excited to come to class," Nakamoto said.

Kalama eighth-grader Kylie Hashizaki, 13, of Ha'iku, said she used to prefer "bookwork" over physical activity but has become an ardent booster for the new program.

"The kids like it because it's not your norm, it's different," she said. "It's not baseball or basketball or kickball; it's individual. You can test yourself and reach for your personal best and not have to compete with others."

Nakamoto, a 12-year teaching veteran, even set up an Active Lifestyle room in a portable classroom that is equipped with DDR systems, treadmills, stationary bicycles and other gear that kids can use before school and during recess.

"They love it to the point where they're here all the time," he said.

Nationally, several hundred schools in at least 10 states are using DDR as a regular part of their physical education curriculum. A recent study by University of West Virginia researchers found that playing the game for at least 30 minutes a day, five times a week, improved general health and reduced the risks of lifestyle-related diseases. Additional evidence showed that consistent DDR participation improved arterial function and blood flow in overweight children in the study.

Researchers also noted that participants who had felt awkward about exercising experienced a positive attitude change toward physical activity.

Acceptance of DDR as a fitness tool marks a significant shift in the philosophy of physical education, said Julienne Maeda, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Leisure Science at the University of Hawai'i's College of Education.

For decades, America's obsession with professional, college and high school athletics was mirrored in P.E. classes devoted to team sports and competition, she said. But less than 1 percent of adults over the age of 25 participate in team sports, and as obesity became a top U.S. health concern, experts began looking for ways to keep people active throughout their lives.

"There's nothing wrong with basketball or soccer, but the shift in emphasis is away from only doing those sports," Maeda said. "The different kinds of physical activity that are out there are really exciting and really doable with a small amount of people, and you don't need a big space and it's something you can do for a lifetime. You can't do football for a lifetime."

Pearl City High School physical education department chairwoman Kay Bicoy was an eager convert, adding the Konami video game and Polynesian dance to her curriculum two years ago.

"DDR seems to be a popular way of getting students to participate in an active lifestyle while working on the fitness components," said Bicoy, who has been teaching for 35 years.

The Hawai'i Content & Performance Standards for physical education require fitness components that include flexibility, strength, muscle endurance, cardiovascular conditioning and body-mass index — the dreaded BMI that measures body fat based on height and weight. It's left to school administrators and teachers to decide whether those standards are met using yoga or dance, volleyball or shambattle, or a combination of new and traditional activities.

"For a lot of kids, team sports are not meaningful," Maeda said. "A lot of kids don't participate because of old-school rules that only the best can play, and if you're not skilled, you sit out or you're the last to be picked. It's not appropriate anymore. Physical education is not just for the athletically gifted kids."

Cost is a big issue that is keeping some schools from adopting "New P.E.," as Nakamoto calls it. The Indo Boards used for balance and core muscle training at Kalama retail for more than $100 each, and Nakamoto estimates his school spent $1,500 to build a climbing wall, which would have cost $8,000 if it weren't for donations from Wal-Mart, Miyake Concrete, the Sherman-Williams paint company and others.

Without the support of Principal John Costales Jr., the PTA, grants and business donations, Nakamoto said Kalama would not have been able to buy any of its fitness equipment.

Donna Ede, a DOE educational specialist for health and physical education, said not all school administrators are as willing or able to wangle funding for P.E. classes.

"The pendulum that swung all the way over to the core subjects such as language arts and math is starting to come back to the whole child," Ede said. "Unfortunately, we have schools that are in academic need, and it's really hard for principals with the kind of pressure they are under to help that pendulum swing back."

Nakamoto and Bicoy said much is possible with a little hustle and ingenuity. At Pearl City High, for example, physical education classes use balls made of crumpled newspaper and masking tape for some activities.

"It doesn't hurt and it's easy to grab," Bicoy said.

Resistance to change is another roadblock.

"We have those folks who are a little slower to come to grips with what's happening, but slowly we're making people see that we need to educate kids for tomorrow, not just for today," Maeda said.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.