This post was originally published on here
A recent Curtin University-led study published in Nutrition examined the relationship between weekly video gaming hours and the health of young adults, highlighting a distinct threshold that separates healthy habits from potential health risks.
Researchers surveyed 317 students across five Australian universities, with a median age of 20, to understand how time spent gaming each week might affect their diet, sleep, and body composition.
advertisement
The investigation grouped participants as low gamers (0-5 hours per week), moderate gamers (5-10 hours), and high gamers (more than 10 hours), allowing for clear comparison between different levels of gaming activity.
The researchers found that health outcomes were comparable between those who played up to 10 hours per week, but deteriorated sharply among those exceeding this limit. According to Professor Mario Siervo from the Curtin School of Population Health, “What stood out was students gaming up to 10 hours a week all looked very similar in terms of diet, sleep and body weight.”
However, as Professor Siervo noted, “The real differences emerged in those gaming more than 10 hours a week, who showed clear divergence from the rest of the sample.”
This divergence included declines in overall diet quality and a higher prevalence of obesity in the high gamer group.
The study found that exceeding 10 hours of gaming per week was associated with a notable increase in body mass index (BMI), with high gamers recording a median BMI of 26.3 kg/m, compared to 22.2 kg/m for low gamers and 22.8 kg/m for moderate gamers. These figures suggest that more than 10 hours of gaming per week is associated with moving above the healthy BMI range.
Diet quality also suffered with each additional hour spent gaming, even after researchers adjusted for other lifestyle factors. Professor Siervo explained, “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.”
Sleep disruptions were observed in all groups, but became more pronounced for those who gamed for longer durations. Moderate and high gamers reported worse sleep quality than their low gaming counterparts. This trend highlighted a significant connection between gaming hours and sleep problems, as more frequent gaming appeared to worsen overall restfulness.
While the study stopped short of establishing a direct causal link, the evidence pointed to a relationship between extensive gaming and higher health risks.
As Professor Siervo stated, “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.”
– Ends
Trending Reel
