[quote=NationalPost]
A Canadian-led study has offered up a new clue to the country’s obesity epidemic, suggesting that video-game use is not just a rampant and sedentary replacement for physical exertion, but actually compels players to eat more — even when they are not hungry.
Such electronic diversions are a pet peeve of health advocates, who often cite the fact they keep young people and adults from more vigorous activity that burns calories and curbs weight gain. The new research concludes that the games add calories to the equation, too.
The teenage subjects of the Canadian-Danish study — published last week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition — spent an hour simply sitting in a comfortable chair and, on another occasion, an hour playing a video game.
After the gaming, they consumed an average of 80 calories more at a pasta lunch. The increase is more significant than it may sound, given that eating only 50 additional calories a day — an apple, for instance — will pack on 28 extra kilograms (62 pounds) over 10 years, said Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput, the lead author.
“It’s a worse story than just being a sedentary activity,” said Dr. Chaput, a kinesiologist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario research institute. “When we play video games, yes, we burn few calories, but we also eat more.”
Surveys filled out by the 22 young men who participated in the study showed the gamers consumed an average of 163 more calories through the day. Blood tests for appetite-related hormone levels showed no evidence that game playing had actually made them hungrier, however.
The researchers theorize that the normal mental strain of playing the devices calls out for some kind of edible “reward,” with comfort foods high in sugar and fat particularly effective at satisfying the impulse. Dr. Chaput said he suspects the impact is much greater than 80 calories, since in a real-life setting gamers often play with others and eat while they play — both factors that would encourage food intake.
The study underlines a key, widely misunderstood reality about weight gain, said Dr. Arya Sharma, chair of obesity research at the University of Alberta. Exercise is healthy for many reasons, but it will do little to reduce extra pounds; limiting food intake, on the other hand, is crucial to slimming down, he said, and sedentary activities like playing video games, watching TV and even working at a computer make us eat more.
“There is this widespread misconception that obesity results largely from people being physically inactive, not burning calories,” said Dr. Sharma. “Canadians are not getting fat because they’re lazy. They’re getting fat because they don’t have time and because they’re stressed out, they’re working too much ... they never shut off.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Chaput said he next wants to look at a new generation of games, such as the Nintendo Wii, that actually require physical exertion that mimics the characters on screen, to see whether they trigger the same over-eating effect. If so, it could be that any benefit of those games — advocated increasingly as a health-boosting pastime for senior citizens and others — could be offset by the resulting compulsion to eat, he said.
About 17% of Canadian children are overweight and 9% obese, according to Statistics Canada, rates that have climbed by as much as 30% in the past 20 years. Children spend more than eight waking hours on sedentary activity on average, four times the recommended amount.
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Source:
[url]http://www.nationalpost.com/life/health/Video+games+make+more+study/4637349/story.html[/url]
I bet this applies to most of the facepunchers.
I agree. I also agree to the fact that I'm a sack of bones. No fat at all.
It's kinda funny that when I have nothing to do and go around being bored, that's when I start eating even though I'm not hungry.
I'm super skinny though.
This is true. I eat loads after/during gaming. Luckily I happen to excerise often.
Isn't this kinda obvious? I mean, you play games, you burn energy, you need to eat.
Brain uses a lot of energy, so "sitting" is not an excuse really.
^^ Yea, that's kind of what the article said if you read it. The problem is the calories gained outweigh the calories burned from mental activity.
Huh, funny. I always felt like I ate less when I was playing because I get so caught up in everything. My family's always pushing for me to snack more because they don't think I eat enough.
[QUOTE=LaserOfDoom;29297836]^^ Yea, that's kind of what the article said if you read it. The problem is the calories gained outweigh the calories burned from mental activity.
Huh, funny. I always felt like I ate less when I was playing because I get so caught up in everything. My family's always pushing for me to snack more because they don't think I eat enough.[/QUOTE]
I've skipped over entire meals because of videogames. The actual reason I'm fat is lack of excersise and the fact that skipping over meals fools you body into thinking you're starving so it stores whatever you eat next time as fat anyway.
Problem of gamers: either skinny as fuck or fat as fuck.
[QUOTE=johan_sm;29297885]Problem of gamers: either skinny as fuck or fat as fuck.[/QUOTE]
There is no inbetween!
I don't like eating certain foods, such as cheetos or anything greasy while I game because I hate getting that shit all over my keyboard or controller.
[QUOTE=VengfulSoldier;29297910]There is no inbetween![/QUOTE]
If you're inbetween, chances are you're not a real/hardcore/whatever gamer.
[QUOTE=johan_sm;29298064]If you're inbetween, chances are you're not a real/hardcore/whatever gamer.[/QUOTE]
Funnily enough, this is true when I compare hardcore gamers to casual gamers I know.
[QUOTE=Eluveitie;29298278]Funnily enough, this is true when I compare hardcore gamers to casual gamers I know.[/QUOTE]
I'm neither fat or skinny, and I play a lot.
strange thing is, i eat a bit more than what people normally would, yet doctors tell me im helathy, and amazingly my posture hasn't changed.
but all i do all day everyday is game
[QUOTE=johan_sm;29297885]Problem of gamers: either skinny as fuck or fat as fuck.[/QUOTE]
Actually I'm of average weight.
Then again I hardly even play video games, and I used to super skinny. Shit maybe that's why, gained weight when I cut down. :psyduck:
That's it i'm not playing Portal 2.
I'm a gamer and I eat a lot. I sleep between 6 - 7 hours and my head hurts in the mornings. I may look skinny but I'm getting wider thanks to my best friend - iron. I pick iron and move it, no matter how badly my body hurts and in the end it's good and bigger muscle is also good.
Fuck that, I eat at least 5 or 6 burritos and a soda every day while I'm skating, and since I recently got a testicle infection and can't skate for 10 days I've been playing video games and have to basically force myself to eat.
[QUOTE=TheChantzGuy;29299057]Fuck that, I eat at least 5 or 6 burritos and a soda every day while I'm skating, and since I recently got a [I]testicle infection[/I] and can't skate for 10 days I've been playing video games and have to basically force myself to eat.[/QUOTE]
What how do you even?
This kind of neurology is stupidly obvious, like where one user in those post stated "brain uses energy, and if requires more energy to facilitate increased activity to appease the demands of the mind, then eat more" -- this kind of science is getting dumb now, we should all know this. The same problem persists with those neurological reportings for where a study reports "republicans have larger amygdala" -- but we know this could happen to anyone since the brain adapts to the inputs it acquires during wakeful states (and is often reactive during a wakeful state to ascribing emotion to sensory inputs; so, if there's a demand for this, the amygdala would need to develop to facilitate this need (thereby appealing to the survival principle of evolution)).
To be honest, it's opposite for me. The more I play, the less I want to eat. But that's me.
Complete opposite for me. I also smoke weed and still don't eat, so I must really not like eating.
[QUOTE=johan_sm;29297885]Problem of gamers: either skinny as fuck or fat as fuck.[/QUOTE]
There is a neckbeard constant.
That study is full of crap.. At least in my opinion.
I found that video games take me away from food.. Like unless I bring some snacks with me before I start the game, I wont be hungry.
Thus is why I'm skinny as fuck.. Hmm..
[quote]spent an hour simply sitting in a comfortable chair and, on another occasion, an hour playing a video game.
After the gaming, they consumed an average of 80 calories more at a pasta lunch. The increase is more significant than it may sound, given that eating only 50 additional calories a day — an apple, for instance — will pack on 28 extra kilograms (62 pounds) over 10 years, said Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput, the lead author.[/quote]
This sounds iffy on several levels.
1) Sitting in a comfortable chair != Interacting with a game
2) What was the actual calculation to come up with "62 pounds over 10 years"
3) Was it just pasta?
4) 22 is a terrible sample size.
i can attest to this fact
thank god i can control myself
Seems most people here are underweight and not the expected overweight.
I too am underweight.
Just weighed myself, I'm 17, 6 foot 1 and I weigh 10stone - 63 Kilos - 140lbs. With heavy clothes on. :ohdear:
[QUOTE=VengfulSoldier;29297910]There is no inbetween![/QUOTE]
Ahem. Well, I'm 6'2" and 178lbs. I'm skinny but I'm definitely not bones.
[QUOTE=Hostel;29302723]Ahem. Well, I'm 6'2" and 178lbs. I'm skinny but I'm definitely not bones.[/QUOTE]
This is a good weight to be.
I LIKE to snack when playing a gam but I hardly games so somehow I am still fat.
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