A recent study has shown that excessive video game playing, specifically more than 10 hours per week, may negatively affect diet, sleep quality, and body weight in young people.
The study, published in the journal “Nutrition,” clarified that while intermittent or moderate gaming appears largely harmless, negative health effects become apparent once gaming time exceeds a certain limit.
Researchers from Curtin University in Perth, Australia, conducted a survey of 317 students from 5 Australian universities, with an average age of 20 years.
Participants were divided into three groups based on the number of hours they reported spending playing video games per week. These groups included:
- “Low-time gamers” (zero to 5 hours).
- “Moderate-time gamers” (5 to 10 hours).
- “High-time gamers” (more than 10 hours).
The team found no significant differences between “low-time gamers” and “moderate-time gamers” regarding diet quality, sleep, and body weight.
However, students who played video games for more than 10 hours per week performed significantly worse in terms of health outcomes.
The Danger of Video Games:
Professor Mario Servos, a researcher in the field of population health and author of the study, stated in a statement: “What was striking was that students who played video games for up to 10 hours per week appeared very similar in terms of diet, sleep, and body weight.”
Diet quality recorded a marked decline among gamers who played video games excessively, who were also more likely to be classified as obese.
The study showed that the average body mass index (BMI) of gamers who played video games excessively was 26.3 kg/m², which is above the overweight threshold, compared to body mass indexes of 22.2 kg/m² and 22.8 kg/m² among gamers who played video games less and moderately, respectively, both of which fall within the healthy range.
According to the researchers, each additional hour that players spent gaming per week was associated with a significant decrease in diet quality, even after considering other factors such as stress levels, physical activity, and lifestyle habits.
Sleep quality was also generally poor among all participants, but players who spent moderate or high hours gaming reported worse sleep than those who spent few hours. The analysis showed a close link between long gaming hours and sleep disturbance, especially when gaming extends into late hours of the night.
