Long gone are the days when video games were the sole domain of pre-teen boys swapping game cartridges out of their lunchboxes. Today the video game industry is a multi-billion dollar-a-year industry so ingrained in pop-culture that movie studios and game developers watch each other’s release dates to avoid unnecessary competition. With this clout has also come influence. Whereas 20 years ago it may have been hard to imagine men wishing they looked more like Mario or women looking to the Mushroom Princess for fashion tips, video games today are shaping our perceptions of attractiveness and body image on as grand a scale as movies and television.

Whether we saw it coming 10 years ago with the introduction of Lara Croft or not, video games are changing the way we see ourselves. The clothes we buy and the hours we long in the gym are our attempt to keep up with a culture that is trying at least in part to keep up with the beauty and fashion of not just the mortal celebrities in Hollywood, but also the immortal creations of video game developers.

Clothing manufacturers have virtual boutiques showing up in role playing games like ‘Sims’ and ‘Second Life.’ Musicians past and present are clamoring for inclusion in the music-based games ‘Guitar Hero’ and ‘Rock Band.’ And we look at the screen and see an impossibly thin woman wearing some really nice clothes. What’s a girl to do?

It’s easy for a virtual girl to lose weight. In fact, in some games, it’s as easy as pressing a few buttons. In the real world, however, no amount of button pressing is going to shrink this or add to that, but there are some healthy image lessons we can take from the world of games:

Fitness is important:

While you may not need to jump from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit of evil men bent on destroying life as we know it, but you do have to run errands and balance a busy life. The best way to keep a healthy body is to keep an active body. Hit the gym. Run a few miles. More than once a week. You’ll burn calories and release the endorphins that give you energy and alertness for the rest of your day. Your goal may not be to single-handedly save the planet from the nefarious forces of evil, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to look the part.

Buy something nice:

While the heroes of video games usually have weapons or some other skill to fall back on, in the real world we only have ourselves. So buy yourself something that makes you feel good about all the work you’ve put in at the gym. Make a reasonable shopping spree a reward for staying on your fitness plan or sticking to your diet. More designers are taking their cues from video games than you may have thought, so don’t be surprised when your 13 year-old nephew tells you he thinks your new jacket looks like one Jade wears in ‘Beyond Good & Evil.’

Exercise your brain:

Most games require skill and intelligence to win. So don’t neglect your brain. Make a commitment to read one new book each month. Do a sudoku puzzle as part of your cool-down after the gym. Make the crossword puzzle part of your Sunday morning coffee time. As we age, so do our brains. To economize energy and space, certain parts of our brains can settle into disuse. These activities keep your brain active and keep your synapses firing so you’ll be ready for whatever this world (or any other) has to throw at you.

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