The new study has been published as a result of work carried out by experts at Curtin University in Western Australiawanted to understand how much is too much when it comes to gaming, and while they found that moderate gaming had no significant detrimental effect on health, those who exercised heavily for long periods of time got more disturbing results.
How was the research conducted?
Scientists surveyed 317 students with an average age of 20, from five different universities in Australia, and grouped them into three categories:
- Low gamers: 0 to 5 hours per week
- Mmoderate gamers: 5 to 10 hours per week
- High gamers: 10+ hours per week
The students were then observed using various sleep, diet and mental health measures and indicators to find out whether longer gameplay led to greater health problems.
How many hours of gaming per week is considered too much?
The results showed that there were no significant differences in health between the low and moderate gaming groups, but that playing for more than 10 hours told a very different story. “What was striking was that students who gamed up to 10 hours a week were all very similar in terms of diet, sleep and body weight,” said Professor Siervowho worked on the project. “The real differences emerged among those who gamed more than 10 hours per week, showing a clear departure from the rest of the sample.”
As the data was collected, it became clear that those who spent more than 10 hours gaming ended up on a poorer diet and, as a result, had a higher body mass index. The high-frequency gamers also had poor quality sleep compared to the low and moderate groups. And when it came to stress, there was actually a negative correlation between long-term gaming and perceived mental health. “This study does not prove that gaming causes these problems, but it does show a clear pattern that excessive gaming can be associated with an increase in health risk factors,” said Professor Siervo.
Because of the strong link between more frequent gaming and negative health outcomes, the team theorizes that obsessive gaming leads to the neglect of other important areas of life, such as choosing fast food over quality ingredients, and staying up too late to complete the next level. “Our data suggests that low and moderate gaming is generally fine, but excessive gaming can crowd out healthy habits such as eating a balanced diet, sleeping well and staying active,” says Professor Siervo. “Because college habits often follow people into adulthood, healthier routines such as taking breaks from gaming, avoiding late-night games and choosing healthier snacks can help improve their overall well-being.”
Time to become your own final boss!
#hours #video #gaming #Science #Reveals #Health #Risks #Muscle #Fitness