Health behaviours associated with video gaming in adolescent men: a cross-sectional population-based MOPO study

Abstract

Background: Playing video games, a form of sedentary behaviour, is associated with poor well-being and increased risk of morbidity due to chronic disease. However, the association between health behaviours and video gaming is poorly understood. The purpose of this population-based study was to reveal the differences in dietary habits and physical activity for adolescent men with high amount of video games on weekdays, as compared to their peers who play less often. Methods: Seven hundred ninety-six adolescent men (age: mean = 17.8, SD = 0.6) attended compulsory conscription for military service in 2013 and completed a questionnaire regarding the amount and frequency of their video gaming. They also participated in a medical examination and underwent physiological measurements. The participants who played video games more than 3 h/d on weekdays were compared with those who played 3h/d or less. The association between health behaviours and the amount of playing video gaming was analysed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: 24.1% (n = 192) of the participants reported video gaming in excess of 3 h/d. This group had higher incidence of having low physical fitness, having poor eating habits, and being obese. No differences were found in smoking or alcohol drinking habits. Other factors, including low leisure-time physical activity (OR = 1.94; 95% CI, 1.29-2.91), low consumption of vegetables and fruits (OR = 0.83; 95% CI, 0.72-0.97), high consumption of sweetened soft drinks (OR = 1.28; 95% CI, 1.06-1.55) and high amount of sitting time (OR = 1.40; 95% CI, 1.28-1.52), explained one-fourth of the difference. Conclusion: In this population-based study, adolescent men who played video games a lot on weekdays had lower physical fitness, were more often obese, and had poorer dietary habits, as compared to their peers who played less often. Because playing video games typically adds to a person's total sedentary time, this activity may be associated with adverse health outcomes at a very young age-especially in combination with poor health behaviours. The results of this study can be utilized to promote health interventions targeted at adolescent men so as to raise their awareness of the disadvantages of excessive video gaming.

Exploration of Alcohol Consumption Behaviours and Health-Related Influencing Factors of Young Adults in the UK

“…Another significant lifestyle factor was the amount of recreational sedentary screen-based activities, i.e., internet use and watching television, which was found to be associated with alcohol use [ 23 ]. The relation between high levels of alcohol consumption and recreational sedentary screen-time behaviour remains controversial with reports failing to observe any association between screen-based activities and alcohol [ 24 ], while others have documented a positive association [ 25 ].…”

Do information and communication technologies influence skills, competencies, health and well-being of teenagers? Current evidence

“…However, a report from high school students in the United States shows that students who spent time on TV or other screen devices for more than 5 hours a day are linked to obesity (78%), less physical activity (94%), and inadequate sleep (80%) [51] which is higher compared to the result reported from college students in China who are suffering from poor sleep quality (9.8%) [52] and (29.4%) from Pittsburgh, United States [53]. Simultaneously, a sedentary lifestyle among teenagers was more often contributes to the increase in weight and obesity [54] that may cause health complications [55]. According to the study, teenagers who spent more than 2 hours (36.8%) on digital devices in a single sitting were subjected to overweight (14.4%) and obese (11.9%) [56].…”

“…Online First [54] agreed that exposure to digital technologies for more than two hours per school day shows a high risk of selfharm and psychiatric problems. Furthermore, Chen et al [55] asserted that the high frequency of mobile phone use is associated with suicidal and self-harm ideation.…”

“…On the other hand, numerous studies found that the use of computers excessively and that teenagers practicing sedentary lifestyle caused the increase in body weight [51,52,[54][55][56] that connected closely to poor physical health and dietary habits [51,54,55]. Besides, the influence of mobile devices on teenagers with the increase of musculoskeletal and vision symptoms [57,58] has significantly increased.…”

Tobacco Imagery in the 20 Best-Selling Video Games of 2018

“…3 Video game play exposes players of all ages to tobacco imagery [4][5][6][7][8][9] and may, like exposure to tobacco imagery in films, [10][11][12][13][14] result in youth smoking initiation and progression to regular smoking. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] This link may be explained by narrative transportation theory, which argues that individuals are "transported" into narrative worlds through cognitive, emotional, and image-based engagement. 26 Once transported, the real world is partially suspended, and players feel as if they have entered the world created by the narrative, resulting in connections with characters, emotional involvement, and reduced motivation for counterargument.…”