Research reveals what number of hours of video video games per week may be too many

Playing video video games for greater than 10 hours per week may have a big affect on younger folks’s weight-reduction plan, sleep and physique weight, based on a brand new Curtin University-led examine printed in Nutrition.

 

Researchers surveyed 317 college students from 5 Australian universities with a median age of 20 years outdated.

 

They break up contributors into three teams relying on the self-reported period of time spent enjoying video video games, from ‘low gamers’ (0-5 hours per week) to ‘moderate gamers’ (5-10 hours) and ‘high gamers’ (10+ hours per week).

 

The crew discovered whereas low and average avid gamers reported related well being outcomes, outcomes worsened dramatically as soon as a teenager’s gaming exceeded 10 hours per week.

 

Professor Mario Siervo, from the Curtin School of Population Health, mentioned the findings prompt extreme gaming was the important thing difficulty, fairly than gaming itself.

 

“What stood out was students gaming up to 10 hours a week all looked very similar in terms of diet, sleep and body weight,” Professor Siervo mentioned.

“The real differences emerged in those gaming more than 10 hours a week, who showed clear divergence from the rest of the sample.”

 

The examine discovered a decline in weight-reduction plan high quality as soon as gaming exceeded 10 hours per week, with a higher prevalence of weight problems within the excessive avid gamers group, in comparison with the low and average avid gamers.

 

High avid gamers had a median physique mass index (BMI) of 26.3kg/m², in comparison with the wholesome vary of twenty-two.2kg/m² and 22.8kg/m² for low and average avid gamers respectively.

 

“Each additional hour of gaming per week was linked to a decline in diet quality, even after accounting for stress, physical activity and other lifestyle factors,” Professor Siervo mentioned.

 

All teams reported typically poor sleep high quality, however average and excessive avid gamers scored worse than low avid gamers, with gaming hours exhibiting a big hyperlink to sleep disruption.

 

“This study doesn’t prove gaming causes these issues, but it shows a clear pattern that excessive gaming may be linked to an increase in health risk factors,” Professor Siervo mentioned.

 

“Our information suggests low and average gaming is usually high quality, however extreme gaming could crowd out wholesome habits reminiscent of consuming a balanced weight-reduction plan, sleeping correctly and staying energetic.

 

“Because university habits often follow people into adulthood, healthier routines such as taking breaks from gaming, avoiding playing games late at night and choosing healthier snacks may help improve their overall wellbeing.”

 

Video Gaming Linked to Unhealthy Diet, Poor Sleep Quality and Lower Physical Activity Levels in Australian University Students was printed in Nutrition.

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