The Center for Disease Control has taken a look at video game addicts and concluded that they are fat.
And depressed.
The CDC's study of more than 500 adults in the Seattle-Tacoma area found a correlation between video game play and health risks. It will be published in the October, 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, but if you're not a subscriber, here's a breakdown of the findings:
- Female gamers reported greater depression and poorer health than non-gamers
- Male gamers reported higher BMI (body mass index) than non-gamers
- Gamers of both genders reported a higher than normal reliance on the Internet for social support
Dr James B Weaver III, of CDC, Atlanta, said: "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... Video-game players also reported lower extraversion, consistent with research on adolescents that linked video game playing to a sedentary lifestyle and overweight status, and to mental-health concerns."
Speaking of the survey, Dr Brian Primack, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, asked: "How do we simultaneously help the public steer away from imitation play-like activities, harness the potentially positive aspects of video games, and keep in perspective the overall place of video games in our society?"
So what do you think of the research? Personally, I think studying the health effects of video games is important, but we should remember that correlation is not causation -- people's lifestyles are getting more sedentary, but maybe games are an effect rather than a cause.
Also: Do games make people depressed or do depressed people gravitate toward games? Like everything, it's complicated: Trying to isolate specific effects of activities may be impossible, but I actually think the CDC studying possible health effects of video games is a good thing -- if games matter, and actually affect people's lives, we should figure out exactly how -- but I'm pretty sure no solid conclusion will ever be reached, because human behavior is way to complicated to fully understand.
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Apsalus07
Oh wow I just read all the ignorant self-serving comments here. You think 500 is a small sample size? Really, do you even know how to calculate the minimum required sample size? Of course you don't you kids. This is STATISTICS folks, as in you actually have to know how to calculate sample size before you ignorantly spout, "OH sample size is too small duhhhh!"
And then after saying that 500 is too small a sample size, you go and say "Well I'm a gamer and I'm not fat!" Guess what dipstick, you are a sample size of ONE. You mean nothing. The CDC study doesn't say that YOU will be fat, it says that the AVERAGE gamer will be fatter - which is quite different from saying that every gamer will be fat. Oh then there goes G4TV with its sensationalist title, to incite you kids because they've got so little visitors.
Finally, all of you think that Seattle gamers are depressed because of the rain/weather. Mayhaps you missed your first day of science class when your teacher talked about the importance of CONTROLS. The CDC sampled the mood levels of both Seattle gamers and non-gamers, then compared them to each other. It's not like they took Seattle gamers and compared them to non-gamers to sunny Indiana. So your excuses are all for naught, go eat your chips and play you Calls of Dutys.
Apsalus07
Look at this week's MMO report (Syndicate Guild) and tell me face to face that gamers aren't more obese than the average population.
Chumbucket
500 people used to build a correlation of information about gamers is a very tiny pool to work from. Add to that, the people used in the test were from the Seattle/Tacoma area. WTF!?
That area is known for its depression so that alone kills the report for any real accuracy on the gamers mental position.
The kicker I found is, that the report is not even on the CDC website or any of its internal publications. I truly question the validity of this "report". The sample subjects is too limited and in only a small location. You can not judge the rest of the nation based on one area. I would love to see the actual source for this report........probably some pissed off mom or 12 step recovering addict who wants to point blame instead of taking personal responsibility for their own behavior.
cosmo_memory
Whether you're gaming, partying, shopping, watching TV or exercising, you need to do it in moderation or it will have negative effects on you physically and mentally.
I don't understand why a single hobby is being singled out as a negative thing.
You could choose any hobby out of hat and choose 500 people who do it too much and say they're "____" and "_____".
EmoHater
Center of Disease control doing a study about being fat and depressed? Shouldn't they have actual diseases to prevent or something?
Habs
6'2", 185 pounds, married, Navy doctor who is a gamer...so I guess I must be fat and depressed!
As a doctor I find this study to be a little lacking. As many have stated, five hundred people is a small sample, the location is one of the rainiest/cloudiest cities in the country, and there is no look at causation.
How many obese or depressed people gravitate to video games for stress relief or just to pass the time. It's not physically taxing, it's private, and it's at home...all things that many obese or depressed people prefer. It can allow for interaction, but lets you create your own vitual self...again, with self image being a problem with many obese and/or depressed people, this is very attractive.
Now as a gamer I am appalled. The headline is broadsweeping and is stated as a fact rather than something that may be a correlation but requires further investigation. It was written just to sensationalize this poorly managed study. After all, if the CDC says it, then it must be true right? And since the CDC stated it as a fact, then it MUST be an absolute!
I am greatly dismayed that the CDC, which is a very credible institute, would report and publish something of this caliber.
Velocity2k
I think the main flaw in the study is that they surveyed people in Seattle. Isn't that the most depressing place in the country?
leakime
I'm skinny and good looking. I'm popular in school, and have great grades. I'm in no way depressed and I LOVE GAMING.
Fiddytree
When are they going to stop wasting money on this garbage?
Memu
In a new study, the people that do studies on people that play video games have been found to be fat, ugly, and depressed.
Apsalus07
If some of you think that depression causes gaming, then scientists can test that by using a prospective study: they would follow a population of healthy people and see how many become depressed first and then game or how many begin gaming and then get depressed. It's not "too complex" to figure out. Gaming is measurable. Depression is measurable. BMI is measurable. I'm guessing this study will be followed up with more extensive studies, such as the prospective study. Then you won't have any more excuses... hehehe.
WhiteWolfAssassin
Video games are a form of escape for those that wish to escape the stresses of every day life. Let's face, we are living in a dark and dreary world right now and there is no problem trying to escape it once in a while. As long as you realize games can't replace the real world you live in and that that you have to tackle the problems of everyday life, I see no problem with games. Although, I think it would be certainly healthy for gamers try to create a schedule where they can balance their time between work, friends, meals, games and exercise.
PersonaShin
"Do games make people depressed or do depressed people gravitate toward games?" And absolutely brilliant point. I don't believe any type of human can be analyzed or figured out. Why a person does something may be due to gaming, but it's nearly impossible to know if that's true or not. What scientists forget to understand--or maybe they do and just by pass the fact most of the time--is that as humans we all have issues and we all have our hobbies. That may positively affect us or negatively affect us. Therefore, there are way too many factors to safely say that gaming has any part of society in gamers. I suspect that maybe those people have a low metabolism or something. Who the heck knows, right?
Completist
I'm fat and sad.....so what?
DamienHell
HA I'm skinny and happy, now leave me to cry in my ice cream!
Abe3stooge
Funny how this came out on the same day that The Washington Post published an article that is completely contradictory, I think SlickyFats is right, people that are depressed might try to use video games to take their minds off of their problems.
http://www.washingtonpost.co m/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/ 08/17/AR2009081702114.html?hpi d=sec-tech
-or-
http://digg.com/health/Rx_Xb ox
komradkyle
yeah 500 people very small sample size and in the cloudiest city what do you expect no one knows how to read statistics most of them lie or are not conclusive enough
autocrat86
The issue with the scientists is that insead of dealing with the problems in a healthy manner, you shove them to the back burner and run away. The problems don't go away. They sit and fester, and eventually screw up your whole way of thinking, or looking at life....I'm not siding with the scientists, I'm a gamer, obviously I'm on the g4 website, but I can see where they are coming from...My issue is that they blame the games for the problems instead of the parent/guardian/teacher or even yourself. Only you can make you happy. No one can do it for you.
gamerbeing
ok ok ok enough of the BS!!!! this study is none conclusive....they only piced a certian amount of ppl. that is how most studies work. i agree with most ppl on this subject. as a person with a dignasoable disability with boughts of depression, its good once in a while to play videogames... im 28 im married and im nt big.
the fact is the goverment is trying to single out gamers in general as being angry,overwight,depressed,drug additcts that want to kill everything in sight. they should in fact try a new study. are overwight,depressed,drug using indivuals with fits of rage gamers???
Greibach
Yeah, as a Seattle resident, I call BS. Seriously, half the time you just have to stay inside anyway from all the rain, more like 75% of the year. Between that and work/school, there isn't even that much opportunity to be as active. Not to mention we are a huge tech-area with all the MS influence. Studies have clearly shown that the area in general has a much higher show of depression than other areas (most likely weather related), and video games are a great thing to do when you are depressed and don't want to talk to people.
I think the point is that people that fall into these areas of un-health are more likely to get involved in the gamer culture, not the other way around. All my friends are gamers, and we are as a whole quite healthy, and generally follow the trends of a diverse group of people. A couple have depression, a couple (myself included) are quite social and like to have parties (no not just LAN, lol, though we do those as well), some are out of shape, some do sports and martial arts, and we spread the spectrum of degrees quite diversely with theatre arts, physics, computer science, political science, biology, journalism..... but we are ALL gamers.
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