Video Games and Obesity - 1601 Words

October 22, 2007 Video Games and Obesity In just two decades, the prevalence of obesity doubled for U.S. children ages 6 to 11, and tripled for American teenagers (Childhood Obesity). Obesity is an excessive accumulation of fat causing a person to become overweight. It is a serious and growing health problem, especially for kids. One major factor to the problem of children becoming obese is, video games. Video games have advanced dramatically over the years. From hitting a ball back and forth in the game â€Å"Pong,† and eating little dots in the game â€Å"Pac Man,† to first person shooters, and sport simulation games that look like you’re watching a game on TV. Even within the past six years, video games have advanced a lot.†¦show more content†¦The percentage of children, who were obese in 1974, was approximately 9.5 percent. In 2002 the percentage of children who were obese rose to a 15.1 percent (Child Obesity). Its only getting worse, especially with today’s â€Å"nex t generation† systems. Video games are only growing in popularity, and as they become more popular, kids are becoming less active, and obesity is growing. Researchers found that each hour the children played video games doubled the likelihood that the child was obese (Warner). This is because children lack exercise by sitting on the couch playing video games. The researchers found that children who do not play video games had only a 6 percent chance of being overweight. Those who played an hour of games per day saw their chances rise to 9 percent. Two hours a day bumped that to 17 percent. And three hours of gaming per day resulted in a 23 percent chance the child would be overweight (Morris). Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin surveyed almost 3,000 children ages 1 to 12, recording their habits and calculating body mass indices. They found the children who played video games, which are considered sedentary activities, were more likely to be overweight than chi ldren who only watched television and didnt play video games (Study Links Childhood Obesity to Video Games). The study suggested that the heavier children spent more time in sedentary activities than thinner kids did.Show MoreRelatedVideo Games and Obesity1593 Words   |  7 PagesOctober 22, 2007 Video Games and Obesity In just two decades, the prevalence of obesity doubled for U.S. children ages 6 to 11, and tripled for American teenagers (Childhood Obesity). Obesity is an excessive accumulation of fat causing a person to become overweight. It is a serious and growing health problem, especially for kids. One major factor to the problem of children becoming obese is, video games. Video games have advanced dramatically over the years. From hitting a ball back andRead MoreVideo Game : Video Games888 Words   |  4 Pagesyou ever played or owned any type of video game? Video games are very addictive, especially your favorite one. Call of Duty is a popular video game that is full of violence and shootings. The quality of this video game looks just like real humans, shootings, guns, cities, towns, roads, etc. Call of Duty started off as a simple video game and is now expanding into a whole series that people keep purchasing. Children of all ages are involved in playing this game, and most peop le are against it. CallRead MoreThe Negative Effects of Video Games Essay example1016 Words   |  5 PagesWhen videos games were first available to consumers and brought into homes it was to serve the purpose of entertainment. Now since the evolution of gaming unfortunately a new purpose has been served. 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