Video Gamers Get Overweight
While watching too much television has been associated with obesity in children, much less is known about an association between time spent playing video games and being overweight.
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Study: Young children from 4 communities in the Zurich area in Switzerland were studied. Their BMI (body mass index) and body fat (as measured by skinfold thicknesss) were measured. Questionnaires (completed by their parents?) were used to determine the amount of time the children spent playing electronic games or watching television while their teachers estimated the children's amount of physical activity. The study concluded that the use of electronic games is significantly associated with obesity and the lack of physical activity.
Comment: The study also found that non-Swiss children living in Switzerland were about twice as likely to be obese as the Swiss children. Now this introduces an additional variable. For example, what was the ethnic makeup of the non-Swiss children, how long had they been living in Switzerland and what was their socioeconomic background?
Personal comment: A "gamer" is someone who seriously plays video games. We have a 14-year old grandson who is a gamer (he writes reviews of video games) and he says that to be a successful gamer, one must play video games at least 1 hour a day, preferably 2-3 hours every day. This is a major time commitment and doesn't leave a lot of time for much physical activity.
Source: www.medicinenet.com |
