The number of video game and eSports players is steadily rising. Since little is known about their health behavior to date, the present study examines the demographics and health behavior of video game and eSports players. In this cross-sectional study, data on demographics, health status, physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and video game usage were assessed via a web-based survey of n = 1066 players (91.9% male; 22.9 ± 5.9 years; body mass index (BMI): 24.6 ± 4.8 kg/m²) in Germany in 2018. The majority of respondents (95%) reported a good to excellent health status. Two thirds (66.9%) engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity for more than 2.5 h/week. The average duration of sitting and sleep time was 7.7 ± 3.6 h/day and 7.1 ± 1.3 h/day, respectively. Mean fruit and vegetable consumption was 2.7 ± 1.8 portions/day. Video games were played for 24.4 ± 15.9 h/week on average. Partial Spearman correlations revealed poor positive associations of video game play time to sedentary behavior (rho = 0.15; p < 0.01) and BMI (rho = 0.11; p < 0.01), as well as a poor negative association to self-reported health status (rho = −0.14; p < 0.01). These results indicate the good subjective health of this target group. Nevertheless, the high amount of video game play time and its poor negative association to health status indicate a need for specific health promotion strategies for this target group.

Quick reactions are considered important in both, traditional and electronic sports and research findings suggest that reaction time can be optimized by both sports activity and playing action video games. In this study, reaction and motor times of 18 professional and 21 non-professional eSports players from different genres and 36 non-professional traditional sportsmen were compared using the Vienna Test System. No differences between the groups were found in simple visual, acoustic, and choice reaction times. Differentiated by game genre, players from sports simulations had significantly shorter reaction times than MOBA players in the acoustic and choice reaction test. The results of this study suggest that traditional sports and eSports may improve reaction times to a similar amount. Furthermore, various game genres require different reaction times or may affect related abilities in different ways.

The popularity of video gaming and eSports is increasing rapidly. However, most research focuses on the economical features and psychological consequences of gaming and only little is known about the health behavior of the players. Therefore, this study is a follow-up of the eSports Study 2019 and further investigates the health and health behavior of video game and eSports players in Germany. This cross-sectional study, conducted between April and September 2019, includes 1038 players (91.2% male; 23.0 ± 5.4 years; body mass index: 24.8 ± 5.0 kg/m2) who provided data regarding their health status, physical activity, sleep, media consumption, stress and wellbeing via a web-based survey. Descriptive statistics were performed on all questions. Linear regressions were used to examine the relation between media consumption, wellbeing and stress. Almost all respondents classified their health status as “good” or better (92.5%). The average sedentary and physical activity time was 7.2 ± 3.5 h/day and 8.8 ± 10.7 h/week, respectively. Respondents slept for 7.5 ± 1.3 h/night on weekdays and for 8.5 ± 1.5 h/night on weekends, but many were “sometimes” or more frequently overtired (53.1%). Daily duration of playing video games (230.4 ± 159.3 min/day) and watching livestreams and videos with (102.6 ± 101.7 min/day) and without gaming content (72.9 ± 88.5 min/day) were much higher than watching regular television (18.9 ± 49.1 min/day) or reading analog media (32.1 ± 53.5 min/day). In terms of stress and wellbeing, most players reported low stress levels (13.8 ± 5.7) and reached a moderate average score of 60.1 ± 16.4 out of 100 points in the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Linear regressions revealed no relevant significant associations. The results indicate good subjective health and health behavior of the target group. However, the high amounts of screen-based media-consumption, as well as the moderate stress and wellbeing levels show potential for improvement. In addition, the target group consumed high amounts of digital media in reference to gaming, while traditional media consumption was distinctly low. Consequently, media campaigns that address health promotion in this target group should use the platforms of digital media instead.

Background Video gaming is a recreational activity with yearly increasing popularity. It is mostly a sedentary behavior combined with repetitive movements of the upper limbs. If performed excessively, these movements may promote strain injuries and a sedentary lifestyle is one of the contributing factors to musculoskeletal disorders. Therefore, a systematic review was conducted to evaluate if video gaming negatively affects the musculoskeletal system of video gamers. Methods PubMed, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library were systematically searched in order to identify relevant peer reviewed original articles in English published between 2000 and 2021. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method was used for the analysis. Studies were included when they contained investigations of changes of the musculoskeletal system due to video gaming in healthy individuals. Studies with participants older than 60 years or solely psychological, social or cardiovascular outcomes were excluded. An adapted version of the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale was used for the risk of bias analysis. Results Sixteen observational studies involving a total of 62,987 participants met the inclusion criteria. A majority (11) of the studies reported statistical negative musculoskeletal changes due to video game playtime. Four studies did not report changes and one study found no effect of video game playtime on the musculoskeletal system. Out of the eleven studies, which demonstrated a negative impact of video game playtime on the musculoskeletal system, the most reported painful body parts were the neck (n = 4), shoulder (n = 4) and back (n = 3). Ten studies reported odds ratios (OR) for the dependence of the appearance of musculoskeletal disorders on video game playtime. In eight studies OR were significantly increased (1.3—5.2). Conclusion Eleven out of twelve studies demonstrated a negative impact of video game playtime on the musculoskeletal system. In particular, excessive video game playtimes (> 3 h/day) seemed to be a predictor for the appearance of musculoskeletal disorders. Due to their great popularity across multiple generations, specific and tailored prevention and health promotion programs for video gamers need to be developed to counteract this important public health issue.

In traditional sports like soccer or tennis, experts benefit from better anticipation abilities compared to novices through a more efficient gaze behavior. For electronic sports (eSports), this area is rather unexplored, although quick decision making, which is linked to gaze behavior, is considered fundamental in eSports. In this study, the gaze behavior of professional and non-professional eSports players (n=21, 23.4 ± 3.3 years) was recorded via eye-tracking in the sports simulation FIFA 19. Number, duration, and location of fixations were compared over an entire match and in offensive play situations. Except for fixation location, no significant differences were found. The players mainly fixated the same objectives regarding fixation number and duration, but professionals had significantly more fixations using the in-game radar and fixated off-ball teammates significantly shorter. Due to the limited results, gaze behavior does not seem to be a decisive factor for excellent performance in FIFA 19.

High performance in multiple object tracking paradigms is associated with well-trained visuo-spatial abilities, visual memory and divided attention. These abilities are essential for both traditional sport and esport. The present study compared the tracking performance of professional as well as amateur esport players and traditional sportsmen. Professional esport players outperformed amateurs, while no other group differences were found. Positive association of esport playtime and tracking performance as well as elevated tracking scores of the entire study cohort compared to normal population indicate a connection of esport and sport activity and tracking performance.

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Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Das Spielen von Videospielen vor dem Schlafengehen kann einen Einfluss auf die Qualität und Quantität des Schlafs haben. Fragestellung Es gilt herauszufinden, welche Faktoren dabei beeinflusst werden und wie diese messbar gemacht werden können. Material und Methode Um eine Übersicht zu geben und Handlungsempfehlungen auszusprechen, wurden aktuelle Studien analysiert und gegenübergestellt. Ergebnisse Das Spielen von Videospielen vor dem Schlafengehen kann speziell bei Kindern und Jugendlichen zu einer erhöhten Einschlafdauer und insgesamt einer erhöhten Müdigkeit führen. Die Bildschirmhelligkeit (Exposition von blauem Licht) und die Aktivierung des Sympathikus durch das Spielen sind dabei relevante Faktoren. Vor allem actionreiche Videospiele führen zu einer größeren Aktivierung als vergleichbare ruhigere Aktivitäten. Schlussfolgerung Zusammenfassend kann gesagt werden, dass der Schlaf grundsätzlich durch das Videospielen negativ beeinflusst werden kann. Eine verlängerte Einschlafdauer und verringerte Tiefschlafphasen können als Folge vom abendlichen Videospielkonsum auftreten. Hierbei scheint die Sympathikotonie eine dominantere Rolle als die Exposition von blauem Licht zu spielen. Kinder, Jugendliche und professionelle Videospielende sind potenzielle Risikogruppen und müssen demnach über ein verantwortungsvolles Videospielverhalten aufgeklärt werden. Zur Quantifizierung der Aktivierung können verschiedene Messparameter dienen. Insbesondere die Herzratenvariabilität stellt einen praktikablen Parameter dar.