A new study finds that many gamers are overweight, shy, and mentally depressed
 

August 20 10:42 A.M.
Depressed

The average gamer is 35, overweight, and more likely to be depressed, says a new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study, which was carried out in the Seattle-Tacoma area, found that gamers reported "lower extraversion, consistent with research on adolescents that linked video-game playing to a sedentary lifestyle and overweight status, and to mental-health concerns."

It also indicated a curious difference between male and female gamers: the former proved more overweight and reported more Internet usage than non-gamer men, while female gamers reported more depression and lower general health than non-gamer women.

But which comes first, the games or the poor health? The researchers hypothesized that depressed individuals might be turning to games as a means of self-medication, immersing themselves in a game's world as a way of forgetting about real-life troubles.

"Habitual use of video games as a coping response may [provide] a genesis for obsessive-compulsive video-game playing, if not video-game addiction," one researcher told MSNBC. The study calls for "further research among adults to clarify how to use digital opportunities more effectively to promote health and prevent disease."

As luck would have it, a study at East Carolina University funded by Bejeweled maker Popcap Games is also investigating the possible mental health benefits of game playing. Having already discovered that Bejeweled can improve mood and heart rhythms, the Carolina group is about to embark on an investigation in an attempt to determine whether games like Bejeweled can also deliver clinically significant improvements to depression sufferers.

"The research is part of a broad array of unconventional efforts that video game companies are devising to find new markets for their products," says Shankar Vedantam, writing this week for the Washington Post. "Many of these steps are based on the idea that depression and other disorders -- as well as everyday stress and worry -- involve systematic patterns of thought and self-doubt, and that games can distract people and put them in a different mental zone."

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/p...-they-/1346074

Your not going to lose weight playing games? :P

Reading this reminded me of an anime called "Welcome to the NHK!"

but they're japanese and not overweight.

they should do a test of videogaming & fast food consumption. I still remember that WoW episode on South Park where everyone got super fat.

Why do they waste money/time on doing these studies? Did they expect to find something different?

I know people who lost their social lives to World of Warcraft.

I knew one of my buddies was a lost cause when I called him up to go out for some beers and his reply was "I can't! I've got a 40 man raid coming up!"

I've only played that game once for about 30 minutes... I got bored quick.

A new study has determined that a lot of these new studies are captain obvious.

:lol wow they needed to "study" this shit?

Study was done in America, the overweight part isn't a surprise no matter what the survey was going to be based on. =3

The real question is the direction of the correlation. Do fat overwieght depressed individuals are more inclined to play video games as a means of escape. Or does video games correlate to a more individuals adhering to unhealthy/depressed lifestyle? I leaning more towards the former.

+ like 3. I knew some guys that I played CS with, blew off playing with people they knew for some raid. One of my other buddies is also really into WoW.

Last MMO I played was Ragnarok Online. Now it's my Xbox 360 and CS, but I haven't been playing as often as I used to (maybe 4 hours of gaming in total a day), probably even less if I find a job.

i remmeber i was a fatass at 200 lb back in 2006 spring break played dota all week and lost 20 pounds... "Dota Diet"

i play video games to stay in shape..... it gives me something to do to stay away from food.... :D

average gamer 35 oO that's surprising

How about Wii? Doesn't it help you become more "active" by actually getting physically involved in the game?

i think it's really gay if you go to a computer cafe to play video games

you guys know what the fucked up thing is?

a lot of these guys are CONFIDENT in their video game character. If they could use that same confidence and apply this in real life, they could have it all.

Lately I've had terrible luck about making fun of WoW shutins to people that are either currently still playing lots or at one point were full on shut ins.

What the hell people?

lol
i remember a few days where i was playing tf2 and forgot about food

I'm a big time gamer.
I also am a big time gym rat. I work out and eat healthy.
I'm am not over weight actually. I'm in shape.
I'm also going to school and not depressed.

New study is fail.

The average gamer is 35, overweight, and more likely to be depressed, says a new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Reading fail.

i know a kid thats 7 years old and knows all of the cod4 glitches :lol

wts level 80 tier 8 alliance druid. 400 bucks.

That's pretty fucked up, but the kid can have a future in pro gaming. Cash and pussy up for grabs at that level.