Study: Videogames Not a Predictor of Teenage Obesity

Posted 01/21/2011 at 3:50am | by Nathan Grayson

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Gamers are fat, greasy nerds. That's what the stereotype says, so of course it must be true. However, in addition to legions of scale-friendly folk who buck the alleged trend through the very act of breathing, science is now on the scene to strike yet another “crime” from gaming's dwindling rap sheet.

Researchers at Michigan State University followed 482 12-year-olds for three years. In addition to sounding fairly disturbing when taken out-of-context, the study measured how often the children used the Internet, cell phones, and videogames through a series of surveys. Tests for reading, mathematics, visuospatial recognition, and self-esteem were also administered to the kids. Parents participated as well, filling out the same surveys in addition to details about their kids' academic progress, height, weight, race and socioeconomic status over time.       

When it was all said and done, games came out as the clear winner in the usage category, but no substantial link between game time and weight gain could be established. Instead, race, age, and socioeconomic status did most of the heavy lifting when it came to packing on the pounds. Better still, dedicated gamers saw an increase in visuospatial skills, which supports conclusions reached in similar studies.

So, parents of the world, while you shouldn't let your tykes spend their every waking moment bathed in the pale glow of their favorite gaming platform, an hour or two here and there might actually do them some good.