Exploring the myth of the chubby gamer: A meta-analysis on sedentary video gaming and body mass

Marker, Caroline; Gnambs, Timo; Appel, Markus

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.05.030

Cited by 43 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…This would indicate that esports players generally are a healthy weight or marginally pre-obese. In video gamers, a significant inverse relationship between video gamers BMI and the amount of time spent playing video games has been found [ 4 ]. However, only 1% of the participants’ BMI was explained by time spent gaming.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Esports are video games specifically designed with competition in mind. Video games, on the other hand, are a leisure activity designed to entertain [ 4 ]. Esports competitions at the highest level often have live events, cash prizes, and online/in-person viewership.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An important issue for public health is whether the accelerated growth in esports is accompanied by increased time spent sitting while playing esports, as non-active video games have been associated with an increase in Body Mass Index (BMI) [ 4 ]. Increased screen time is associated with higher levels of obesity and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours in adults [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Despite increased screen time being linked to increased rates of obesity, the link between video gaming and obesity has not been strongly established [ 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increased screen time is associated with higher levels of obesity and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours in adults [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Despite increased screen time being linked to increased rates of obesity, the link between video gaming and obesity has not been strongly established [ 4 ]. Previous research on the health and weight status of esports players has indicated the need for health-promotion strategies for esports players, due to the relationship between sedentary lifestyles and poor health of esports players [ 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Empirical evidence suggests that excessive video gaming and increased screen time are associated with higher obesity levels in adults [ 4 , 6 , 8 ], especially abdominal obesity [ 9 ]. Previous research has shown that an increased amount of time spent video gaming on the weekend was associated with increased risk of being obese [ 5 ], as well as being less likely to meet World Health Organization (WHO) PA guidelines [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Association between Esports Participation, Health and Physical Activity Behaviour

Trotter

Coulter

Davis

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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We investigated the association between obesity, self-reported physical activity, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and perceived health in esports players, and the influence of player in-game rank. Data was collected with an online survey with an international participant sample of esports players representing five esports and all skill levels (n = 1772). Esports players were more likely to be categorized as normal weight, or obesity class 2 and 3 and as non-smokers (92%) and non-drinkers (65.1%) compared to international reference data. Esports players met international physical activity guidelines less than global general population. Esports players ranked in the top 10% were more physically active compared to the remaining esports players. As esports player in-game rank increased, so did the amount of time spent playing esports. Although esports players appear generally healthy, a small group was significantly obese and most esports players did not meet physical activity guidelines, indicating potential future health risks.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The Association between Esports Participation, Health and Physical Activity Behaviour

Trotter

Coulter

Davis

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons meets “Maslow's pyramid”

Benti

Stadtmann

2021

Human Behav and Emerg Tech

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After its release in 2020, the video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH) has recorded high sales figures and attracted a large number of game players. In order to analyze this success, we rely on Maslow's needs‐based theory of motivation and analyze the role of the video game ACNH in satisfying needs. By using an interdisciplinary framework involving both psychology and gaming, we investigate ACNH's role in satisfying real‐world needs from the players' perspective and virtual‐world needs from avatars' and villagers' perspective. We find that deficiency‐motivated needs, with the exception of players' physical needs in the real world, are satisfied in both the real world and the virtual world. Moreover, while growth‐motivated needs are satisfied in the real world, such needs of solely virtual elements are partially satisfied. Generally, we highlight the role of the game in satisfying the needs of the real person and of virtual elements while also reflecting the interdependence between the real world and the virtual one.

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