Official News page 6

REAL LIFE NEWS: VIDEO GAMES DON'T MAKE YOU FAT AFTER ALL

by Hazed

Contrary to recent reports, playing computer games (or spending time watching TV) do not cause kids to become obese after all, according to a new study of schoolchildren in the US.

Previously, studies have found that adults and late teens playing video games and watching TV have a link to a slightly higher body mass index than non-gamers and those that watch less TV than average. This supported the view that sitting still watching a screen, being a sedentary activity, contributes obesity.

But now a team at Michigan State University has been following a group of 482 teenagers for three years - the kids were twelve at the start of the study. Parents and children responded to surveys throughout the project, giving information about internet use, how much they played video games, how often they used a cellphone, the children's exam scores, height, weight, and so on. The kids were also tested in reading, maths, visuospatial recognition and self-esteem.

The result: using video games, the internet or cellphones had no effect on the children's BMI. Instead, it seems that race, age and socioeconomic status are the strongest predictors of whether a child is going to become obese.

It's not all good news, though: they found that although those who played more video games had better visuospatial skills, they had lower school grades and lower self-esteem.

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