Health risks in adults linked to Gaming.

The October 2009 edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has published an article which claims tests have shown that there are "measurable correlations" between playing video games and increased health risks.

Participants from the Seattle–Tacoma area (claimed to be the 13th biggest media market in the USA and the nation’s largest user of the internet) provided details to the researchers on their gaming and lifestyle habits which included “self-assessments of depression, personality, health status, physical and mental health, body mass index (BMI), and poor quality of life.”

45.1% of those that took part in the study were gamers. According to the research, female gamers were more likely to be depressed than those that did not participate in the hobby. Male gamers were reported to have a higher BMI than those that did not play games. Both sexes of gamers also reported a higher reliance on the internet for social support.


Dr. James B Weaver III (PhD, MPH, National Center for Health Marketing, CDC, Atlanta) stated in the article:

“As hypothesized, health-risk factors – specifically, a higher BMI and a greater number of poor mental-health days – differentiated adult video-game players from non-players. Video-game players also reported lower extraversion, consistent with research on adolescents that linked video-game playing to a sedentary lifestyle and overweight status, and to mental-health concerns.

Internet community support and time spent online distinguished adult video-game players from non-players, a finding consistent with prior research pointing to the willingness of adult video-game enthusiasts to sacrifice real-world social activities to play video games. The data illustrate the need for further research among adults to clarify how to use digital opportunities more effectively to promote health and prevent disease."

You can read more about the study at Science Daily but the question remains; are we all really harming ourselves by participating in our hobby? Let me know your thoughts; in the meantime I’m off to discuss this with my friends on Facebook…