The Big, Fat Question

By Rob Fahey Published 14 March, 2009

Linking child obesity with games has caused outrage, but the criticism is fair.

Published as part of our sister-site GamesIndustry.biz' widely-read weekly newsletter, the GamesIndustry.biz Editorial is a weekly dissection of one of the issues weighing on the minds of the people at the top of the games business. It appears on Eurogamer after it goes out to GI.biz newsletter subscribers.

It's not terribly often that gamers and the industry that sells games find themselves comfortably mounted on the same high horse, but this week the stars seem to have aligned. The recipe for this odd harmony? Take one deeply unpopular British government and have them fund an advertising campaign regarding childhood obesity and its impact on life expectancy, using videogames as your example of a sedentary, "unhealthy" activity.

A flurry of hysterical internet posts, and only marginally less hysterical statements from the industry, has ensued. Gamers and industry, united in their outrage at the vile targeting of a poor, innocent medium, have railed against the Government, accusing the Change4life campaign of ignorance about games, of unfairly targeting the medium ("you wouldn't see them saying this about reading books," goes one popular refrain) and even of Big Brother tactics.

It's hard to say why the campaign has elicited such a strong response. Perhaps it's that gamers are so used to the medium being blamed for things it hasn't done - school shootings, youth violence and so on - that there's now a knee-jerk reaction to any criticism, no matter how valid.

Because have no doubt - the criticism, if it can be characterised as such, which is made by Change4life's campaign is valid, reasonable and eminently sensible.

Britain, like many other first-world countries, is facing a health crisis as a result of childhood obesity. Childhood obesity occurs as a consequence of eating too much high-calorie food (the ad campaign also features children eating cakes, although I've heard remarkably little outcry from Britain's cake companies thus far) and taking part in too many sedentary pursuits, at the expense of exercise, sports and so on. Videogames are one of those sedentary activities. Children who eat too much fatty, sugary food and play videogames all the time instead of going outside and running around will experience life-shortening health problems. That's the message of the advertisement, and it's provable and scientifically supported from start to finish.

"But why," the industry cries, "why are we being singled out, and not television or books?" This, I remind you, is the same industry which has spent the last decade boasting to anyone who'll listen about how incredibly popular its products are, about how the popularity of videogames is hammering the audience figures for television, how revenues from games are outstripping those of music and movies. This is the industry that very publicly chuckles with schadenfreude when television weeps over the "lost generation" who never tune in because they're too busy on their PlayStations and Xboxes. As for books? With desperate campaigns underway in Britain to try to prevent the rise of illiteracy, it seems unlikely that it's books that are making kids obese.

I'm loath to fall back on a "have your cake and eat it" metaphor in an argument about childhood obesity, but it fits the situation all too perfectly. The industry, it seems, is perfectly happy to boast of being one of the most popular, if not the most popular, forms of entertainment for children and young people. When that position, however, places it in the line of fire as part of the health services' long-running campaign to get children to engage in more healthy activities, the industry wants to be able to adopt a hurt expression and point the finger at the "real culprits" in television and, er, book publishing.

You can't have it both ways. If videogames are the most popular form of entertainment for kids (or damned near to being so), then it stands to reason that videogames should be used as an example of the kind of sedentary entertainment which children need to do less of, in favour of more active pastimes. If, on the other hand, videogames are actually deeply unpopular and hardly any children spend a significant amount of time on them, then yes - the industry has been wronged. But in that instance, the industry has also been lying to itself (and everyone else) for the last decade.

Moreover, the criticism in this campaign isn't even directly levelled at videogames. Rather, it is aimed at parents and parenting; the message is, quite clearly, that parents need to do more to control the amount of time their children spend playing games (or eating cakes) and encourage their offspring to go outside and run around more.

The games industry is big on the idea of parental responsibility, having made many grand (and perfectly reasoned) statements on the importance, in a free society, of using age ratings and parental responsibility rather than outright censorship. The reality, however, is that just as there are many parents who ignore age ratings on games (something for which the industry supports education campaigns), there are also many who treat games consoles as cheap babysitters, allowing their children to play for hours and hours on end without regard for any health impact (something for which the industry considers education campaigns to be deeply unfair and an absolute outrage).

(As a side note, it's worth observing that running ad campaigns attempting to educate parents about health risks their children face is not "Big Brother", nor is it anything which Orwell's 1984 predicted. For reference - millions of CCTV cameras, interlinked databases of information on citizens, ID cards, lengthy detention without charge, widespread retention of communications data, the unchecked expansion of police powers - these fall under the broad category of "Big Brother". Running ads which tell parents that if their kids play games all day and don't get any exercise, they'll become obese and unhealthy? Not "Big Brother".)

So desperate are gamers and industry spokespeople to deride this campaign, they have even turned to conspiracy theories to explain how such an evil thing could come to pass - suggesting that games were chosen as a target because the real evildoers, television and fast food companies, are involved in funding Government health initiatives.

Of course, it's entirely true that TV firms and food companies such as Coca-Cola and Nestle have been involved in Government health initiatives. Indeed, the Government has been criticised on many occasions for allowing sessions on health, particularly children's health, at its party conferences to be sponsored by companies who sell junk food to children.

However, if they're buying freedom from criticism by doing so, they're not exactly getting great value for money. The new Change4life campaign hasn't just popped into existence after decades of silence on childhood health. As long as 20 years ago, schools were showing videos and distributing pamphlets to children and parents alike warning of the dangers of watching too much television and not getting enough exercise. In the past five years, fast food companies have faced increasingly tight regulations on their advertising and labelling, along with hard-hitting campaigns to encourage people not to eat their products. (Recent TV ads have shown several pints of gloopy, disgusting saturated fats being poured down a sink to illustrate our monthly intake of fat from food.)

That videogames are now in the firing line (in fact, I'd argue that parents' irresponsible treatment of videogames as a surrogate babysitter is what's in the firing line) is simply a sign of the times. For decades, we have pointed to television and fast food as the culprits of childhood ill-health. As the childhood obesity issue continues to grow, absorbing more and more of the NHS' funding with each passing year, videogames have joined television as one of the nation's favourite sedentary pastimes. No campaign has claimed that videogames are inherently unhealthy or bad, but equally, it takes remarkable ignorance to deny that many children play too many games and don't get enough exercise.

All things in moderation; although moderation, sadly, is one virtue which the industry and its adherents seem to have lacked in their reaction to this issue. I can only hope that such shrill pronouncements have not done any permanent damage to the industry's relationship with health campaigners, to whom videogames firms should be an ally, not an enemy - even if that means taking a certain degree of deserved criticism on the chin.

For more views on the industry and to keep up to date with news relevant to the games business, read GamesIndustry.biz. You can sign up to the newsletter and receive the GamesIndustry.biz Editorial directly each Thursday afternoon.

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About Rob Fahey

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Comments (102) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Lateralaus #1 3 years ago

    I got a playstation when I was 11 and I stoped going to football pratice on saturday mornings and playing kick about at the play park so I turned into a fat wee fucker. It's grand now though.

  • BlackKraken #2 3 years ago

    Games are one of the reasons i often end up getting to late evening without having eaten anything all day.
    I blame video games for me being a skinny bastard.

    Oh, and all my inadequacies are not my fault. Its the games, honest.

  • distantholler #3 3 years ago

    Itīs not what you do itīs what you eat. Stop eating carbs and eat more fat. Like we did a million years ago. Look at a lion in zoo, itīs not fat beacuse it eats what it is meant to eat. It works even without much excersise either. Same with humans.
    Edited by 1 at 14/03/09 @ 11:07

  • Mindstorm #4 3 years ago

    very balanced and well-informed article. Expect however the backlash of denialists in these comments.

  • the_dudefather #5 3 years ago

    VIDEOGAMES ARE GOLDEN ANGELS THAT CANNOT CAUSE ANY PROBLEMS AND ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE IS A GIANT POOPY HEAD

  • Gearskin #6 3 years ago

    Eurogamer should rename itself FATTYgamer. Yes.

  • Wastelander #7 3 years ago

    Free tapeworm with every pre-order.

    Where's my cheque?

  • Weezer #8 3 years ago

    Games have also made me bald and unpopular with women. I want my money back.

  • OrgasmicMutton #9 3 years ago

    Surely sensible articles like thisd aren't allowed on the internet?

    i'm sure there was an internet initiative banning sense.

  • Benno #10 3 years ago

    Video games make people fat

    I did however lose weight when WotLK came out, didn't have time for food, had to get the dingz!

  • floppylobster #11 3 years ago

    Playing games and watching TV can burn a lot of calories if you are using your brain at the same time. If you don't use your brain, because you (a) play simple shit games, (b) watch safe shit television or (c) are too lazy to exercise and too lazy to think, then you're probably gonna get fat no matter what you do.

  • Rash' #12 3 years ago

    a great, broad minded article. excellent work. kudos. i wholeheartedly agree.
    Edited by 1 at 14/03/09 @ 11:31

  • polar #13 3 years ago

    I agree with BlackKraken, if anything gaming kept me skinny when I was young becuase I was skipping meals to keep playing. I was also getting exercise when not playing though. I think it's easy to blame games, but people and parents need to take responsibility for weight gain and act accordingly. TBH some people are always going to be fat because they don't burn the calories that they consume - simple as. Most people simply eat too much nowadays and so those who put on weight have only themselves to blame - I don't see the point in having scapegoats. Perhaps some kids are fat due to playing games, but if it wasn't games, they'd be sitting around on their asses watching tv imo. It's up to parents to teach their kids how to look after themselves in this regard and it's not surprising that fat kids are often accompanied by fat parents.

    Simple put, fat people are responsible for fat people.

  • dirk_aircool #14 3 years ago

    was the bit about ' big brother ' supposed to be irony ?

  • DFawkes #15 3 years ago

    So where does Wii gaming fit in, like Wii Fit? Stop playing that game where you exercise and do some exercise fatties!

    No idea how I'm not 30 stone to be fair, I never exercise more than a brisk walk now and then (and avoiding getting the bus if it's a short journey).

  • Krelle #16 3 years ago

    fat people should not have kids in the same way as retarded people should not have kids

  • sega #17 3 years ago

    I think it's obvious playing games too much will make you fat. When I was a kid I played on my Megadrive a lot. However if my friends called and asked if I wanted a kick about in the park I'd be there without a second thought. As much as I loved games, I couldn't think of anything worse than being stuck in playing them on a hot summers day. Maybe kids today just don't socialise as much as they used to - or maybe things are just the same (I did know my share of fat kids).

    To be honest I think the problem is kids with poor social skills. If they don't get on well with other kids then they'll feel more comfortable staying in playing games. The friends I had then who always had some excuse not to join us playing football was always the overweight kids - and that was probably because we always called them fatty. Basically encourage your kids to be social in the real world and they'll become more active.

  • Vanmunt #18 3 years ago

    I wonder if generations of gaming our future chidren will evolve extra gaming thumbs, and bigger eyes.

    Oh I blame, Pot, Elvis and Cheese for all the worlds ills'.
    Edited by 1 at 14/03/09 @ 11:46

  • Farzlepot #19 3 years ago

    Video games don't cause obesity. Neither do McDonalds' Happy Meals. It's an excess of both without some kind of corrective exercise to burn off the fat afterwards. If you only eat burgers, pizzas and chocolate, and never expend any energy except the bare minimum required to move those analogue sticks, chances are you're going to balloon up in size like a... well, like a balloon.

    It's a pretty well-known fact that sitting on your arse without exercising is never good for you, regardless of what you're doing to entertain yourself at the time. I'm amazed there's a cause for an article at all...

  • djed #20 3 years ago

    Stop reading internet comments.

  • Tomo #21 3 years ago

    Good article which pretty much sums up my thoughts on the matter, and many others.

    I wasn't aware of the backlash to the campaign beyond forum outcries, although admittedly I didn't take the time to search out the wider views on this topic. The books argument just sounds bizarre to me, almost too bizarre to sound truthful.

    One thing about the adverts though: if they are supposed to be targeted at parents not telling their nippers to get out enough, where is that implication in the adverts? There's no parent in them, just a little tot sitting on his arse. I think that's where a lot of the anger has come from. On face value, it just looks like games = slob children. Not bad parenting/too much gaming is the root of the problem.

  • Grayvern #22 3 years ago

    Fact of the matter is its not hard to be healthy physically and spend an unhealthy amount of time playing video games. An hour walking a day combined with normal eating is fine.

    I was 13 stone 7 and now am 10 stone. 10 stone being within optimum weight for my height (by bmi) its easy to lose weight but only with a positive attitude. Which shock tactitcs doesant necessarily engender

    Blaming poor social skills is also complete bollocks, and could actually contribute to obesity, tell a shy kid hes got to do sports especially team sports to be thin and he/she might just tell you to bugger off. If the parents make the effort with vegetables and find a form of solitary low impact exercise then he/she might just get thin.

    While mostly overweight and obese children are probably that way due to parenting, ie diet and exercise it is also unclear how much is a psychological problem with todays society, many would perhaps just be slightly doughy if they didnt have the psychological impact of the meidas perfect specimins encouraging defetism.

    @ distantholler, that is complete balls, yes if you eat more meat and fat, or atkins you will lose weight, but that wont stop your arteries filling with fat, there are many people out there who are overweight but perfectly healthy. In a balanced diet half our intake should come from carbohydrates, and that mostly from complex carbohydrates.


    Edited by 3 at 14/03/09 @ 12:45

  • stripelord #23 3 years ago

    Games, TV, books, the internet, junk food... You can't blame any of these things for making someone obese. The only things you can blame are: the person themselves, or their parents if they're too young to make these kinds of choices.

    And I disagree somewhat with this article. My issue with the C4L ad is the sensationalistic approach of showing a kid playing a playstation with the giant word "DEATH" printed above his head.

    "the message is, quite clearly, that parents need to do more to control the amount of time their children spend playing games"

    I fail to see how the ad "clearly" promotes that message.

  • ProfessorLesser #24 3 years ago

    @floppylobster - the brain actually uses a relatively constant amount of energy, no matter what it's doing! Chess is as demanding as Eastenders in that respeect, I'm afraid.

    @polar - you are right, to an extent, except you have generalised far too much. For some people it genuinely will be the case that without videogames they'd probably exercise more, and that number is likely to be significant. Our environment over the years has become increasingly obesogenic, both in the rise of inactivity and the increase in food intake. If either is slowed, then obesity would also be slowed. It's not simply a case of fat people having to find something else to avoid exercise with - while it may be true for some individuals, it's an extremely unfair view to take towards the obese population who are simply more prone to obesity than others.

  • GreyBeard #25 3 years ago

    Ok, I work in the games industry.

    Tell me how through my work I'm going to eliminate bad parenting, and I'll give this bullshit some credence.

    No matter how benign your product, IDIOTS can use and misuse it. That includes such passive things as using it as a decoy, which is what the "game as babysitter" argument boils down to.

    And isn't it amazing that its apparently legitimate to suggest that games may provoke antiscocial behaviour by presenting bad examples, yet nearly all games feature extremely active and adventurous characters that run, jump, fight, etc... All those healthy outdoor pursuits that computer kids are supposedly missing out on!

    Guess it only causes imitation when there's no physical effort involved, like robbing cars, beating up pensioners, and planning and executing school shootings!

    Everything you can say about games, you can say about books. But funnily enough noone uses them as a scapegoat.

  • Spekingur #26 3 years ago

    Feeding your kid alot of fatty food, including cake, instead of healthier food will make your kid fat. No matter weither it plays videogames, reads books or watches television. It is not the fault of videogames or cakes however - it is the fault of parents allowing sitting-in-front-of-the-tv babysitting.
    A much more effective ad campaign would have been something on the lines of "how good a parent are you? Are you a role-model for your kid? Do you want to see your kid get older? Do you want your kid to live to see their own kids get older?" and then display fat kids with fat parents.
    But no, of course not. The parents are never to blame, are they?

  • DDevil #27 3 years ago

    OMG NANNY STATE!!!!!!11!

  • shotgun44 #28 3 years ago

    I have abs like a washboard. Do some crunches, stop eating pastries and MTFU.

  • Grayvern #29 3 years ago

    To be honest I think the heart of this issue is that as a society we pride ourselves from being above instinct in one breath and in another assume that people with children naturally, instinctively know how to care for them.

    A saner argument would be for the education of all parents not the pathologisation of parents with obese children.

    Also Crunches, man that must have been boring. And also probably one of the worst ways to try and lose weight.
    Edited by 2 at 14/03/09 @ 12:53

  • MaskedDave #30 3 years ago

    Video games made me sexy.

  • creepylizard #31 3 years ago

    I alwasy thought it was eating too much food that made people fat, but there you go...

  • coolbritannia #32 3 years ago

    What a load of crap. Video games can be great as part of a balanced diet.

  • TetsuZaemon #33 3 years ago

    I honestly have no idea why I'm not fatter than I am, right now. Whenever I egt on the scales, and 11-stone clocks up, I go "Shit!", but, apparently, it's alright, 'cos I'm 6 foot 1''.

    I'm definitely not obese. But, I'm not fit, either. Healthy, I'd say. But not fit. I wish we had a toilet nearer the computer, though. Those stairs are a killer...

  • ObfuZcate #34 3 years ago

    I think this article should consider a wider point of view. I believe it is correct insomuch that the peeps playing games will have a normal, slow or fast metabolism. If you have a fast metabolism, as I did when I was young, then it didn't really matter if you ate mountains of crap or didn't eat at all... your metabolism kept you skinny no matter what. However, those with normal or slower metabolisms would, obviously, gain weight. It always seemed to me that my weightier gaming peeps would need to eat far more frequently than I needed to even though my metabolism processed food amazingly fast. They didn't, however, turn into South Park-esque "Make Love Not Warcraft" blobs... well... perhaps one came close. Let's be honest with ourselves... most gamers don't have an inclination toward a "jock" profile and probably never will. It is a tough mold to break out of (into?).
    What gaming does, all types of gaming that require sitting for hours on end, is exclude physical exercise. You probably just said to yourself, "That's redundant, dumbass. Exercise is physical." Not so. Gaming does exercise our minds, and I suppose to some extent, our manual dexterity. It does however prevent "gross" physical exertion, which, if you don't want to die in your 50's, 60's or, if you're lucky, your early 70's of a massive coronary or embolism on the crapper, is necessary for a healthy lifestyle.
    I suppose you could snack "healthy" foods, like apples, oranges, celery, etc., and help to reduce your overall risk of heart-attack or wot-not, but I believe that consistent physical exercise is necessary for a fully healthy lifestyle. Gaming does not promote that much. You should note that many of the games from Japan DO require a certain amount of physical exercise. They are doing this on purpose. Clever bastards. They want to keep you alive longer to buy more of their games... but they also recognize the overall effect that sitting for hours on end in front of a monitor, barely moving except to lift a cheek to gas-out your roommate, has a negative effect on your overall health... and your eyes. Can I talk about that now?
    Peace OUT, mein Peeps.
    ObfuZcate

  • LewisResolution #35 3 years ago

    The problem with the advertising campaign was far more the fact that they used Sony's product without permission, and then showed it in a negative light.

  • mattrix33 #36 3 years ago

    I sit in and play videogames everyday,it has not done me any harm.

    Im only 37 stone and i have to wash myself with a rag on a stick everyday to stop the smell.

  • Subi #37 3 years ago

    Rob, you play videogames for a living, and yet you weren't overweight last time I saw you. So the argument is clearly nonsense. ;)

  • Daryoon #38 3 years ago

    I always wonder why we have an obesity epidemic now, and not 25 years ago when sugary sweets were everywhere, McDonalds was advertising all over the place, and Sainsburys didn't have little pie charts on everything telling you how much crap it contained.

    But yes, video games are part of the problem. And so is the cotton-wool state we've become. I hear most playground games I used to play are banned now for health and safety reasons. No wonder kids turn to video games...

    And then there's the bizarre fact that healthier food is more expensive than unhealthy food. Less fats and sugars, so we charge you extra? Way to entice people...

  • Stompy #39 3 years ago

    "The only things you can blame are: the person themselves, or their parents if they're too young to make these kinds of choices."

    You are assuming that we have free will. Let's question that.

    Bob likes to eat. Bob likes to eat unhealthy food.
    Bob was taught that family happiness involved eating unhealthy food together. Bob saw his family eat unhealthy food for all sorts of reasons - celebratory, to combat stress, to alleviate unhappiness.
    Bob has always eaten unhealthy food - he was given it to eat when young, and then expected to eat it when older.
    While he knows that unhealthy food is bad for him, the people around him also like unhealthy food and he isn't too worried, as eating unhealthily is 'normal'.

    When Bob was young, he had no choice over the food he got. He was given it.
    When Bob was young, he had no choice over the preferences for food he was socialised into having. (Maybe even genes have a part to play in a fat family?).

    Explain to me how Bob has any choice whatsoever now in: the environment he is in that promotes unhealthy food, his history of learning that eatung such food is acceptable and helpful, and the preferences he has gained for this food. Please show how Bob can make any 'free choice' whatsoever to be the 'the type of person who does not like unhealthy food'.
    When submitting your answer, please be aware that hypothesising any external variables (e.g. a doctor tells him he must eat better as he has developed diabetes; his kids nag him to play footie with 'em) is relying on more determining variables rather than an idea of freely willed 'choice'.
    (If all you can say is "but of course we have a choice. Of course Bob could choose to be different," then I will merely state this case again. Bob has obviously not chosen to be who he is, and who he is happens to be a fat bastard who likes to eat. He had no choice when he set in motion to become this, and has no choice now to suddenly go "I want to be thin entirely of my own accord without any determining factors, such as social pressure or health issues". If you think I am wrong, it is up to you to prove your initial assertion that the person is to blame for being fat because they 'chose' it).

  • Fab4 #40 3 years ago

    You are as sedentary, if not more so, reading a book. However, i've yet to see a campaign targetting the dangers of reading.

    I don't think anyone would argue that taking anything to extreme is not bad for your health, but this latest government campaign sought to target one particular lifestyle over all others. I think that's why the game industry is up in arms.
    Edited by 1 at 14/03/09 @ 14:54

  • Spekingur #41 3 years ago

    Because crap is cheaper than healthy.

  • Golgo #42 3 years ago

    In the words of Frank Zappa (probably too old a reference for the whipper-snappers here): "People who want to ban smoking think that they will live forever."

    Hang on that's about smoking, which proves my brain is old....anyway, same point I think: better to die a few years younger having lived your life enjoying the simple pleasures available to you than to live a few years longer miserable as fuck, having punished yourself with lentils, smoothies, Newsnight, serious literature and assorted soya bean products.

    Anyway, Rugby's on: I'm off now for lard sandwich and a cheeky fourpack.

    ...and I am a 'real life' doctor, by the way, which sounds authoritative but proves fuck all.
    Edited by 1 at 14/03/09 @ 15:09

  • Stoatboy #43 3 years ago

    Games were the soft target, not the obvious one. That would be TV, because it's pretty much universal - whereas games aren't. The problem with targetting TV though is that the adults are much more likely to be guilty of the same sins (which involves even less activity than gaming) whereas kids are more likely to be gaming than their parents. It's much easier to get people on board if you demonise the things they don't do, rather than the things they do.

    It's probably understandable that the industry gets a little bit miffed about this since it already gets blamed for any stabbings, shootings and crazed rampages that occur, regardless of any evidence to support it. Now they cause heart attacks too!

  • ObfuZcate #44 3 years ago

    If you wonder why it is soooo much easier to become obese now than it was in years/decades past I highly encourage you to listen to Michael Pollan's talks about food and his books about food, such as Omnivore's Dilemma. I believe he did one talk entitled "The Cornification of America", but I'm not sure about the title.
    Simple sugars are passed more easily through our bodies, like sugar cane, which was used to be used to sweeten foods and was all natural. American food industry has, in the name of profit and damn your health, embraced cheaper, more artificial means to sweeten pretty much everything you eat. Every-thing. Chief culprit, high-fructose corn syrup.
    If you want to be healthier, for "insert choice of deities name here" sake, educate yourself and read what you're eating before you eat it. Google those ingredients and I guarantee you'll start questioning how healthily you're feeding yourself. Start now and live a little longer to game on... and on... and on.

  • dsmx #45 3 years ago

    I remember a study that was done a while ago that found gaming is better for you than watching TV as when you watch TV it tends to stop you moving about or fidgeting whereas gaming you move about much more.

  • Ryze #46 3 years ago

    I really can't wait until I can play a AAA game using full body motion and / or attached fitness equipment.

    I don't mean a tacked on peripheral where pedalling does the same as pressing 'X' or 'A', but a game where my actions are used usefully in a 8/10 or better title.

    That said, as BlackKraken mentioned, I have spent whole days having eaten NOTHING, as a result of playing video games.

    Yes, there's an inactivity issue, but if children have poor snacking habits, then yes, in combination with inactivity they'll get fat.

    The corellation between gaming and obesity should also include reading, web access, TV & movies, board games, toys etc.

    Gaming is the only one of these pursuits that is likely to have the options for more and more activity as time progresses.

  • TRUTH #47 3 years ago

    Blame yourself if your fat, lazy, thick and being stupid for not taking any responsibility for your own choices in life - not videogames!!!...Don't see fat obese kids in Japan!
    Edited by 1 at 14/03/09 @ 16:52

  • malexous #48 3 years ago

    I'm 17 and have been out of school for months now. All I do is get up, play video games, watch tv, eat and sleep. My BMI is bang in the middle.

    I doubt most fat kids are fat for sitting around but rather for what they eat. (Of course a balance of everything is still most important though).

  • BigJonno #49 3 years ago

    I work in a primary school. Based on casual observation of children's eating habits and amount of excercise, I have no clue why children are the weight they are. Some are very active, eat well and fat, while other eat loads of crap, sit around all break time and are as thin as rakes.

    *shrug*

  • Calgon #50 3 years ago

    I didnt read it all, the first half was enough, very pretentious beginning there, so his arguement is the campaign was delivered fairly and doesnt risk giving the wrong message, simply because its the most popular activity among young people? Sorry but thats a little short sighted so you fail!

    The problem is some do good parents are just lazy, all they'll take from it is "cut out video games all together and problem's solved", which is completely wrong as we all know.... the problem is a whole lifestyle one, eat right and make some time for exercise is the message they are giving but they've just done it in the wrong way.

    Why not find out why these kids are so lethargic and eating themselves into an early grave, isnt that often linked with depression? Video games dont make you depressed or lethargic, whos to say that rather than making them fat in the first place it just happens to be popular among this group of young people for obvious reasons? So in that case you cant argue that they arent helping them but they are far from the cause perhaps?

    I dont beleive it needed a knee jerk reaction though I agree on that, but its not "totally correct and 100% valid" as you tried to dictate(theres is plenty to pick at about how the campaign is being delivered but the core message is correct), I dont mind these peices but try and sound less pretentious or mr know it all and maybe people wont have to keep pointing out these belong on a blog.
    Edited by 6 at 14/03/09 @ 17:46

  • polar #51 3 years ago

    @ ProfessorLesser

    Sorry, but I disagree. I don't think videogames make anybody fat. I suppose it's easy to have something to blame, but I think it's simple. People who are fat eat too much and don't exercise enough. It's the people themselves. Scapegoats aren't gong to decrease obesity, but further educating the public as to the the benefits of burning off excess calories and eating the right foods in the first place will. I lost a stone and a half last year - I was a bit overweight. Once I recognised this I cut down on food and exercised a bit more - hey presto I lost weight.

    I think a lack of personal responsibility is to blame. As for fat kids - I think it's their parents.

  • Calgon #52 3 years ago

    @ distantholler eh all zoo animals are under controlled diets though, I think you've skimmed over some Arthur De Vany and missed a bit, yes ancient man didnt have access to carbs, but we never lived soley on meat... infact I forget the figure but it was something like 30 percent meat. The rest of the intake was fruits, nuts and greens, I think baboons are one of the closest living primates that you can relate to how ancient man lived. They've moved out of the forrest on to planes can work in packs to hunt for meat and the rest(largest part) of the nutrition comes from elsewhere.
    Edited by 1 at 14/03/09 @ 17:58

  • Buztafen #53 3 years ago

    Its not videogames thats made me slightly rotund, its the fact that i went from a retail shop job to an office job sat on my ass all day drinking around 20 mugs of coffee.....OFFICES!!!!! BAN THIS SICK FILTH!!!

  • MaxiSleep #54 3 years ago

    (1) People who play games are more likely to be fat, therefore games causes fatness
    (2) People who are fat get bullied by their peers, so do not engage in outdoor activities therefore play more games

    Me I go for option 2

    And you can substitute play games with watch tv, and before that listening to jazz music and reading novels (if you go back far enough)

  • Tehren #55 3 years ago

    The risotto I lovingly crafted for my tea is going to do far more harm to my wasteline than the next three hours of Empire: Total War.

  • solidSnake04 #56 3 years ago

    balanced article alright. but i still fail to see how the campaign clearly addresses the message to parents, regarding video games.
    i got my gameboy when i was 7 and im 23 now, having own at least 1 console from each generation. why is it then that i am perfectly healthy and fit even though i admit i have spent unhealthy amounts of time paying consoles ???

    Simple... because I don't stuff myself up with junk food and neither my parents did. Moreover, I am a competent martial artist, having practiced for 8 years, I am a dancer and a chess player.

    Its a combination of many factors(sometimes genetic) that lead to obesity, and not playing video games alone.

  • Spekingur #57 3 years ago

    I vote for more research into real holodecks ala Star Trek! No more fatness!

  • napalm68 #58 3 years ago

    Easy solution. Make all games adult rated and don't sell to kids :p

    I think MattDamon hit it on the head though. I spend 8-9h a day working at a computer and for entertainment I watch movies and play games. And I'm not overweight.
    Edited by 1 at 14/03/09 @ 23:07

  • 3william56 #59 3 years ago

    This thread just imploded under the weight of it's own irony.

  • smelly #60 3 years ago

    Yeah.. im a FIRM believer that kids shouldnt be indoors being entertained.. They should be out "playing" and taking drugs on street corners, mugging old grannies and putting graffiti everywhere because they're "bored and have nothing better to do"

  • smelly #61 3 years ago

    @MattDamon - you can be unhealthy without being overweight you know...

  • Ryze #62 3 years ago

    OK, I've read the first third and the last paragraph of this article. It's a nonsense that the campaign isn't targeting overeating or eating the wrong foods.

    It isn't targeting the poor parents who stock their fridge with chocolate and fatty junk, and their cupboards with sweets, cakes and crisps.

    OK, it's just the games that need to be banned. NONSENSE.

    At the same time, ban indoor toys, board games, TV, BOOKS, MAGAZINES, INTERNET, AND HOMEWORK.

    We also need to BAN ALL DESK JOBS - too much inactivity - DESK JOBS ARE KILLING US ALL.

    I've had to sit at my desk this past week carrying out a load of fucking annoying admin work. Normally I'm out and about. Do my employee's rights allow me to protest this inactivity? It WILL make me fatter in the long term (if I don't compensate by eating less / exercising more).

    What a fucking nonsense.

  • avoozl #63 3 years ago

    smelly is right. Also eating nothing all day is not good for your health, and also lowers your metabolism which makes it harder for you to lose fat.

  • Jasugun #64 3 years ago

    Come on, poeple KNOW that they'll get fat if they eat too much and do nothing all day. What's the purpose of such ads, they already know it but do it nonetheless. let's face it, confronting people with their own death doesn't work, or else we would already be non smokers/drinkers, out driving safely, eating well and doing some exercise. Those ads do not work, they just raise heated debates, but do not get people to take responsabilities for what they do (because the core of the whole problem is this: take repsonsabilities for what you do, and stop blaming whatever you're blaming saying it's not my fault)
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/09 @ 11:39

  • avoozl #65 3 years ago

    "Because crap is cheaper than healthy."

    Good point. What use are these ads if you can't afford vegetables?

  • CunningLinguist #66 3 years ago

    What about Japan? They game like crazy over there and I have yet to see a fat person about. You are what you eat and we all know that English food is vomit inducing, to say the least.

  • Spekingur #67 3 years ago

    Err, Japan has the same problem as everyone else. But fat people there can find a reason to be fat. Sumo wrestling!
    I'm pretty sure they have invented some kind of seafood McDonalds-type of food that's unhealthy.

  • ProfessorLesser #68 3 years ago

    @ ProfessorLesser

    Sorry, but I disagree. I don't think videogames make anybody fat. I suppose it's easy to have something to blame, but I think it's simple. People who are fat eat too much and don't exercise enough. It's the people themselves. Scapegoats aren't gong to decrease obesity, but further educating the public as to the the benefits of burning off excess calories and eating the right foods in the first place will. I lost a stone and a half last year - I was a bit overweight. Once I recognised this I cut down on food and exercised a bit more - hey presto I lost weight.

    I think a lack of personal responsibility is to blame. As for fat kids - I think it's their parents.

    I'm not saying we should blame videogames, and scapegoats are not the answer. But it's pretty undeniable that, on average, across the population, computer games are a contributing factor to obesity, as is absolutely anything that promotes prolonged periods of inactivity. This is pretty common sense. I'm not saying computer games 'make' you fat, I'm saying they contribute, and they do. When targeting an epidemic, you can't put everything down to personal responsibility and expect people to get on with it. Precisely what do you think articles like this are if they're not "educating the public", anyway?

    Personal responsibility is almost always a factor as well, but the extent to which free will and choice can play a role in weight balance varies from person to person. Some people just get fat easily, others do not so readily lay down fat. Some people will get fat no matter what. In the end, it's the environment that makes us fat - nobody can get fat without consuming more calories than they burn - but the extent to which this happens depends upon our genes, and varies between individuals.

  • Freek #69 3 years ago

    Strange article, it starts out be trying to say that videogames are to blame (almost flame baiting) and then moves on to being more reasonble and calling for personal responsability, good parenting and then goes back to flame baiting.

    Why?

    The reality of the situation is that videogames are the most popular form of entertainment out there but they don't make you fat. That's solely your own fault. Games don't make you do anything, you choose the food you eat and whether or not to exercise. You can't blame it on other things. Not movies, not TV, not music, not games. A person is responisble for thier own actions and lifestyle.


  • Ryze #70 3 years ago

    Reasons for fat children:

    PARENTS
    DIET
    LIFESTYLE
    INACTIVITY

    So - the top 2 aren't worth putting most effort into tackling? Such nonsense.

  • Lamb #71 3 years ago

    Much fatter than your average, Lamb don't eat cabbage.

    If you are comfortable with what you are hauling you are not fat.

    If you want to be chomping down like that guy from the Life of Brian, then good for you.

  • Collymilad #72 3 years ago

    This article is bullshit.

    Know why? It's not because I'm a hard headed gamer. It's because people are responsible for their own bloody actions, and if someone chooses to sit and play games all day, and becomes fat - thats THEIR CHOICE, and by extension THEIR fault.

    Games, movies, books, TV, don't make people do anything.

    It doesn't surprise me that we have nonsense articles like this though, since it's just an extension of the total lack of any sense of personal responsibility that this generation has.

    Basically, the government knows it's gone too far. We have yesterdays bad children who are now todays bad parents, and it's only going to get worse. No one takes responsibility for anything now, not even a lot of parents. So instead of actually starting on the hard task of sorting out what this countries real problem is, that's bad parenting, btw, they attack something much easier - and which they know people will jump on.
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/09 @ 19:02

  • kwesleyb #73 3 years ago

    I've been playing games for at least 13 years and people are complaining how slim i am and they don't know how i do it..

    I don't know and don't care, all I know is that "playing games will make you fat" is a load of old trollop.

    How it works with me is that i play a game on-line...play..play...play until i desperately need food... then I'll make sommit really quick so I can play some more..

    Beats the Atkins diet any day.

  • polar #74 3 years ago

    @ ProfessorLesser

    Videogames are indeed a contributary factor I'm not denying that, but they are a very small piece of the overall puzzle here imo. So small in fact, that I don't think it's worth mentioning. Getting fat has much more to do with eating the wrong types and amounts of food than leading a sedantary lifestyle. Being inactive on it's own cannot cause obesity, but taken on it's own, excessive eating will. I refuse to believe than a significant amount of the population are so addicted to games that they can't pull themselves away from playing every now and then. I'm far more inclined to believe that fat kids consume too many take aways, sweets and soft drinks (an often overlooked source of calories).

    Of course it's a combinationn of factors, all I'm saying is that it's worth keeping an eye on the root cause of obesity - over eating - and not getting sidetracked by silly arguments like this one.

  • Rodney #75 3 years ago

    some good points have been raised in these comments.

    The article has a point but unfortunately the government loses all credibility on this issue.

    it is responsible for selling school playing fields
    school meals are provided by private contracters who put profit before quality healthy food
    vending machines in schools
    promoting a national diet which is as much based on commercial interests as it is on health. (pyramid model, high carbs, all fats are bad etc)....
    children leaving school now have spent the whole education under a labour government, why do they not know how to feed themselves?

    Also, the whole culture surrounding children has changed in recent years. You cant let them play outside anymore because paedophiles are lurking around every corner, and they cant possibley walk to school because they will definately be run over by a car. If they do actually manage to get out and play, then they will probably just take drugs and binge drink any way. what else are kids supposed to do?

    of course, in my day we played outside every day all day, read Dickens in the evening and it was alway sunny

    /has to stop reading the daily mail


  • aphexstwin #76 3 years ago

    i used to be a sporty kid, played cricket (slow bowler) and baseball loads during the summer, i could hit for miles and basketball in the winter. it wasnt games that got me off sport but music. we had a family amiga 500+ and got maybe an hour here or there on sensi. started playing drums on my 13th birthday and didnt look back. 5 or 6 years ago the band i was in played a gig for the singers birthday, we went to town on the setup. 5k backline/vocal and 5k bass and kit rigs, 8 par56cans and 8 assorted lights plus some other shit all set up by the band so i was drained before i played anyway then a 1h45 gig in 40c temperatures. i was drenched head to foot after 15 minutes, and i class it as the hardest thing ive ever done. im now 30, 15 stone and a slob because i'd rather spend my money on games, pizzas and parmo's than go out on teh lash. but its not entirely the games fault. so, to potentially upset anyone i'd say that its the ease of interacting with your friends over a network via consoles that makes kids fat because theres no need to go to their houses or meet in the park for a game of footy. but it should also be said that keeping these knife wielding little twats in front of a game screen will make the streets safer. whats it to be government? fat kids or criminals?

  • pjmaybe #77 3 years ago

    Article really only needed this line in it:

    "That videogames are now in the firing line (in fact, I'd argue that parents' irresponsible treatment of videogames as a surrogate babysitter is what's in the firing line)"

    As does the government's campaign. I'll not stick up for Videogames wholly but it's not the only cause of childhood obesity. A couple of generations of parents who basically don't interact with or "parent" their kids is more to blame. If parents got off their own lardy arses a bit more and did more interesting things with their kids than sitting down, joypad in hand, to engage in a bit of co-op then there would probably be a lot less fat kids around.

  • pjmaybe #78 3 years ago

    Afterthought. Mainstream gaming has been around in one form or another since the early 70s. Yet it's really only in the last 10 years or so that it's become a scapegoat for all of society's ills. Odd that.

    Also odd that in the 70s being brought up on a diet largely consisting of interestingly coloured E numbers, kids seemed to be a lot skinnier than they are today too.

  • gaselite #79 3 years ago

    The point seems so obvious that I can scarcely believe such an article needs to be written but here we are.

    Hopefull some idiots will sit up and take note of their idiocy.

  • gaselite #80 3 years ago

    "I agree with BlackKraken, if anything gaming kept me skinny when I was young becuase I was skipping meals to keep playing."

    Some people trot this line out like it's a good thing. It is incredibly unhealthy.

  • Les #81 3 years ago

    "No campaign has claimed that videogames are inherently unhealthy or bad, but equally, it takes remarkable ignorance to deny that many children play too many games and don't get enough exercise."

    Children don't get fat because they play games, they get fat because we (in the West at least) live in an age of abundance while our bodies have evolved for life with a scarcity of nutrients. Hence we're inclined to be lazy (don't burn calories when there's no need for it) and we're efficient in storing calories as fat (for the times when there's not much to eat).

    Of course it is a problem, a very big one. But it should be tackled at the root instead of targeting, like we always seem to do, however futile, the symptom.

  • gaselite #82 3 years ago

    "Know why? It's not because I'm a hard headed gamer. It's because people are responsible for their own bloody actions, and if someone chooses to sit and play games all day, and becomes fat - thats THEIR CHOICE, and by extension THEIR fault."

    This argument is fatuous because the campaign targets childhood obesity and as well all know children are not trusted with autonomy typically until they reach the age of majority. They don't make sensible decisions and that's why their parents are there to help them. Fahey made this observation when he claimed that the campaign (which I have not seen, living in Australia) targets irresponsible parenting rather than the pasttime. Parents are, to a large degree, responsible for their children's actions rather than the children themselves. This strikes me as obvious, and as a normal, positive thing. This issue is nothing to do with grown fat men and women willingly being fat.

  • metalangel #83 3 years ago

    I took Phys Ed until the end of high school. I am the least sporting person ever and sucked at everything but it beat sitting in class. In university I cycled everywhere. Now I still go everywhere on two wheels... but propelled by a motor. And my job is just sitting at a desk for 7 hours a day (and I can't really leave the desk either, nature of the job). So, gained a few pounds. None of this is gaming's fault, it's lack of activity. I still eat almost as much shit as I ever did. But with an illegal immigrant terrorist pedophile in every bush, you can't let you kids go out for a kickabout. (and yet you can let them go sit in a bus shelter waiting to start on passersby). Er. I have no point. Sorry.

  • LunatikCajun #84 3 years ago

    Less research is done on, and less money is spent on fixing lung cancer, because lung cancer is seen as something which people do to themselves.
    Why not apply that logic to obesity (and alcohol) induced disease? Let a couple drunks and fatties die as a result of their self induced destruction, make sure it gets a load of media coverage and....wel, to be honest, the problem will still probably still exist.

    But at least the NHS would stop whinging about having to spend all their money on helping these people.

  • Shinji #85 3 years ago

    Couple of things, in response to points raised in this thread.

    Firstly, "videogames don't make you fat, sitting around doing nothing makes you fat!" - I'm paraphrasing, obviously. Yes, perfectly true, but the reason videogames are being used in this campaign is that they're now the most popular thing to do while sitting around doing nothing. Peej mentioned that this kind of targeting of videogames didn't happen in the 70s - that's because hardly anyone played videogames in the 70s! Now, almost all children play games for fairly lengthy periods of time, a fact which the games industry is pretty proud of (and rightfully so).

    Secondly, "you don't see people saying this stuff about books!". Well, yeah - because hardly any children read books. I've been involved in a couple of campaigns to get kids reading, and if you could see the uphill struggle those campaigns face (especially in the deprived areas where childhood obesity is at its highest), you'd understand why the image of a child getting fat isn't of a child sitting in his room reading a book. Yes, it's sedentary, but it's so uncommon that you might as well show an image of a kid hanging upside down from the ceiling from his feet all day. Kids play games; but for the most part, they don't read books.

    Finally, as for the whole "personal responsibility" argument that's come through so strongly... You guys DO realise that this ad isn't targeted at you, right? It's about children, and it's aimed at their parents. Children don't HAVE a sense of personal responsibility - it's up to their parents to look after their health, and at the moment, far too many of those parents let them sit in front of videogames all day because that's a hell of a lot easier than bringing them to the park and letting them run around, or getting them to sign up for sports clubs, or whatever.

    As a result, I don't entirely understand why people are so incredibly vehement on the whole "ffs it's my responsibility!" thing - unless you're a ten year old child, then that's an extremely odd thing to post here. Honestly, you'd think some of you were carrying around a pile of guilt about being lazy, chubby adult gamers or something... ;) But in that instance, you're right - it IS your personal responsibility to look after your health. Which is why this ad isn't about you, it's about children.

  • menage #86 3 years ago

    I've been playing since I was 6. I'm skinny though, kids don't need to stop playing videogames, just stop chowing down pizza's at the same time.

  • layleeloo #87 3 years ago

    Struth.

    Im actually amazed there is some relitively mature debate going on here instead of fanboys stomping on each other. Makes all the comments actually worth reading for once!!! :-)

  • metalangel #88 3 years ago

    There, just ate two Big Macs. Take THAT, nanny st... Oog... (dies.)

  • Jasugun #89 3 years ago

    @Shinji
    I stcik to my point: people (parents then) know why they get fat (their children then). IMO, reminding them with ads is of no use beucause they know already but do nothing however.
    Honestly I think that most people will only and blindly see: sendentary activities (games being one of the most popular among kids these days, ok) make kids fat, but won't feel any responsible for it...
    Edited by 1 at 16/03/09 @ 13:06

  • ccfb #90 3 years ago

    "prevent the rise of illiteracy"

    Are you serious?

  • MrJ1m #91 3 years ago

    I think the criticism is probably fair. Sitting on your arse playing games probably will make you fat, unless you spend some time doing something else as well. I read a different opinion recently that made me chuckle.

    The article stated that the focus on cutting school bullying was responsible for the number of fat kids now seen.

    I remember from my school days that fat kids got picked on. And ginger kids were goalkeepers! It's not right or fair, but that's how it was. Several fat kids found this so unacceptable they slimmed down. There was one poor fat kid who used to get chased for miles by a bully who used to arm himself with dog-poo on a stick. He must've been pretty healthy despite being quite portly.

    Life is about balance, I play a lot of video games and if I stop going to the gym I get fat. So I go to the gym. It amazes me that the goverment thinks that people are stupid enough that they need to be told "If you let your kids play video games and eat fatty shit all day they will get fat and eventually die!"

  • SEVQA #92 3 years ago

    Well sitting on your arse doing nothing, WILL NOT GET YOU FAT I guarantee it. You sit down and do nothing ?which includes eating? and see how fat you get. lol

  • SEVQA #93 3 years ago

    I read that the junk food companies where financially involved with the Change4life campaign.\/

    [link url=http://www.mcvuk.com/news/33517/Is- this-the-real-reason-why-gamers-risk-death
    ]http://ww w.mcvuk.com/news/33517/Is-this-...[/link]

  • Redeye #94 3 years ago

    Eat healthy food.

    Cut down on the booze.

    Stop smoking.

    Die anyway.

  • captain-future #95 3 years ago

    I'd link EATING TOO MUCH AND JUNKFOOD ALL THE TIME to obesity.
    --Captain Obvious

  • Shinji #96 3 years ago

    "prevent the rise of illiteracy"
    Are you serious?

    I wish I wasn't. Inner-city communities in a number of parts of the UK are seeing rises in child illiteracy again, after years of falling. Literacy was a big push for several decades, but lately it's simply fallen out of fashion - we're seeing massive funding problems for literacy programmes (adult and child alike), big gaps in the funding available for local libraries, and so on. It's falling increasingly to the volunteer sector to both fund and run literacy programmes.

    (It goes without saying that it's not quite so much hard work to get the same kids playing videogames :) )

  • metalangel #97 3 years ago

    Why read when there's the internet, councils have seemingly decided as they close libraries...

  • M_of_the_sys #98 3 years ago

    Perhaps they should also try telling people to stop sitting on their fat arses all day watching adverts about kids sitting on their fat arses all day playing computer games.

  • mouthofyoureye #99 3 years ago

    My main issue with this thread is not the "OMG there's nothing wrong with games!!!11" kinda thing which i think has been a little overplayed, but the liberal crap that is being peddled out. obviously if you come out with eugenics-toting comments like "fat people and retards shouldn't have kids" then you are a twat but there's issue's with this that aren't being addressed.

    man is not a fucking island. if this advert even is blaming poor parenting then we should still be critising it. A standard married couple working full time on working hours that out government refuses cap with the EU agreed 35 hours are not in a position to come home from work and go "ahhh what a beutiful day, i'll cook you a nutricious meal with ingredients that i can't afford and then we'll take a long bike ride"

    It is important to educate parents but we shouldn't be blaming them. Open your minds and stop swallowing this bullshit. Parents aren't gonna watch the advert and go"oh suddenly i'm not stressed and poor!!".

  • Tlaloc #100 3 years ago

    The bleeding obvious. Video games make you more prone to being fat, to being less socially adept, to being less educated and more prone to driving your car like a half wit. In extreme cases the addict also fails to wash and is laughed at and reviled behind their backs.

    Peggle, on the other hand, is simple genius.

  • Vandit96 #101 3 years ago

    i play games, work, do gym, play guitar.....and .....no fat ;)...
    Depends on your body metabolism.

  • allenwarner #102 2 years ago

    Smart Lipo

    I think the problem is with the social skills.if poor children are supposed to be focusing on parents say their claws enough, this view is very unfair to make obese people are simply more prone to obesity than others .
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/10 @ 07:24