Study Reveals Playing Games Too Long Can Trigger Obesity and Sleep Disorders

JAKARTA - The habit of playing games for a long duration is often considered just entertainment to relieve fatigue. However, if done excessively, this activity can have an impact on various aspects of health, ranging from decreased sleep quality to changes in eating patterns that lead to weight gain.

The findings were reinforced by a recent study highlighting the link between the duration of playing games and the risk of health disorders. As reported by the New York Post on Sunday (18/1), the study published in the journal Nutrition revealed that playing video games for more than 10 hours per week can have a significant impact on eating patterns, sleep patterns, and weight in young people.

In this study, researchers involved more than 300 students in Australia with an average age of 20 years. The respondents were then grouped into three categories based on the length of time playing games each week.

The first group is a player with a low duration, namely zero to five hours per week. The second group is a medium-duration player who spends time playing between five to 10 hours per week. Meanwhile, the third group consists of high-duration players who play the game more than 10 hours every week.

The results of the study showed that the health conditions of game players with low and moderate durations were relatively not much different. However, when the playing time passed the threshold of 10 hours per week, a significant decrease in health conditions occurred.

The group of high-duration game players recorded a decrease in dietary quality accompanied by an increase in body mass index with an average of 26.3, which falls into the category of obesity.

In addition, all groups of respondents reported worsening sleep quality. However, sleep disorders are most clearly seen in gamers with medium and high durations, who recorded lower sleep quality scores compared to players with low durations.

The researchers emphasized the importance of managing game playing time so that it does not have a negative impact on health. Professor Mario Siervo from the Curtin School of Population Health as the leader of the study said that excessive game playing may be related to an increase in health risk factors.