Video game playing increases food intake in adolescents

January 01, 0001

Video game playing increases food intake in adolescents

The objective of this study by Canadian and Danish authors was to examine the acute effects of sedentary video game play on various components of energy balance. With the use of a randomized crossover design, 22 healthy, normal-weight, male adolescents (mean age: 16.7 y) completed two 1- h experimental conditions, namely video game play and rest in a sitting position, followed by an ad libitum lunch. The endpoints were spontaneous food intake, energy expenditure, stress markers, appetite sensations, and profiles of appetite-related hormones.

They found: "Heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, sympathetic tone, and mental workload were significantly higher during the video game play condition than during the resting condition. Although energy expenditure was significantly higher during video game play than during rest (mean increase over resting: 89 kJ), ad libitum energy intake after video game play exceeded that measured after rest by 335 kJ. A daily energy surplus of 682 kJ (163 kcal) over resting was observed in the video game play condition. The increase in food intake associated with video game play was observed without increased sensations of hunger and was not compensated for during the rest of the day. Finally, the profiles of glucose, insulin, cortisol, and ghrelin did not suggest an up-regulation of appetite during the video game play condition."

The authors concluded: "A single session of video game play in healthy male adolescents is associated with an increased food intake, regardless of appetite sensations."

This study documents increased caloric intake associated with playing video games although we don’t know why.

For the full abstract, click here.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition © 2011 to American Society for Nutrition
Video game playing increases food intake in adolescents: a randomized crossover study. Jean-Philippe Chaput, Trine Visby, Signe Nyby, et al. Correspondence to Dr. Chaput: [email protected]

Category: T. Endocrine/Metabolic/Nutritional Keywords: video games, adolescents, energy balance, caloric intake, randomized controlled trial, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Linda French, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 14 June 2011

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.

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