Video games and internet use come with health risk, study says
August 19, 2009
The average player of video games tends to be a 35 year-old male with above-average body fat who immerses himself in media such as broadband internet and watching TV, according to a new study.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Emory University and Andrews University analyzed survey data from over 500 adults in the Seattle-Tacoma area to determine the effects of media use behaviors and perceptions on health.
In an article published in the October 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the study authors report measurable correlations between video-game playing and health risks.
Female video-game players reported greater depression and lower health status than female non-players. Male video-game players reported a higher body-mass (BMI) and more internet use time than male non-players.
Both female and male video-game players had a greater reliance on the internet for social support, the study found.
"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," the study said.
Adult game players tend to "sacrifice real-world social activities to play video games," according to the study.
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