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 “Pong,” and eating little dots in the game “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. Games …show more content…

They said overweight children are more sedentary and have fewer friends so they may simply find themselves with more free time on their hands, which they then fill with video games. This implies that playing video games could be a result of obesity. Kids need to become more active because obesity is very difficult to treat once it has been established. Obesity is a major health issue that can lead to heart disease and early death. Spending hours on the couch in front of the television playing video games is one of the main reasons children are becoming obese. In addition to increasing the risk of obesity in adulthood, childhood obesity is the leading cause of pediatric hypertension, is associated with Type II diabetes mellitus, increases the risk of coronary heart disease, increases stress on the weight-bearing joints, lowers self-esteem, and affects relationships with peers (Childhood Obesity). Some authorities feel that social and psychological problems are the most significant consequences of obesity in children (Childhood Obesity). It is important to become more physically involved because it not only keeps you healthier and in shape, but it also helps improve your social status, because your more involved with other people if you take part in a physical activity. Video games can cause kids to become less social, because they are spending most of their time by themselves playing a game. They should be