Does Playing Video Games Make You Fat?

by Christine Lusey Posted 2011/05/31 14:00:00

Related Topics: Video Games, Obesity, Denmark, Fifa 11

401 votes
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	Yes	156 votes	39%
	No	245 votes	61%

Cue Captain Obvious: sitting on the couch playing video games helps pack on the pounds. Sounds like a no brainer, right? Well a group of researchers at the University of Copenhagen wanted to find out if it was true.

According to their results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it is, but it might have more to do with how much gamers eat than the toll of a sedentary hobby.

In their straightforward experiment, 22 “healthy, normal weight male adolescents” in Denmark played two 1-hour sessions of the popular soccer game FIFA 11, followed by lunch.

The researchers found that “a single session of video game play in healthy male adolescents is
associated with an increased food intake, regardless of appetite
sensations."

Is a study with 22 participants enough to declare a consensus? Maybe not, but you might want to think twice the next time you sit down for a marathon World of Warcraft session.

+11

Add a comment above

PDenoli 2011/05/31 19:30:53

No

+7
Eating too much and sitting on your butt instead of exercising makes you fat. Doesn't matter if you're driving a truck, playing video games, or ogling better looking people at the park.
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More polls by Christine Lusey

Cody Guthrie 2012/04/30 14:41:09

No

i weight 98 lbs and i play games like 5 hrs a day a week

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zx 2012/02/04 21:38:25

Yes

it makes u fat because 1s your on u wanna play more amd u dont have time to go outside or work out or go to the gym and u eat and play and get fat

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soul 2011/08/03 10:26:59 (edited)

No

if you`re really dip in there ,you won`t even remember what time to eat or whether you want to eat or not. sO HOW can you become fat in that condition.

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Bart 2011/07/31 15:14:18

No

you'll lose weight if you play on portable console while jogging around your house

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Ramon 2011/06/08 12:24:01 (edited)

Yes

If that's all you do it certainly won't help

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MissGates 2011/06/03 02:55:30

No

Lack of exercise and eating too much does..
I play video games (once in a while tho, not everyday.. not even every week), but i still eat well and train so i can stay in shape..

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Hil 2011/06/02 21:01:43

No

no way im a size 4 n have literally been playin video games since i was two

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RawrRawrNinjaCupCake<3 2011/06/01 18:46:31

No

+2
Video games can contribute to the growing "trend" of obesity.
But it's not the video game its self that's making you fat.
Poor diet and lack of exercise are the culprits.
The poor videogame just makes getting fatter that much more enjoyable!

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Fergie 2011/06/01 18:23:27

No

I've played video games my whole life and I'm not fat. Depends on how often you exercise and your diet

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jon 2011/06/01 18:11:29

Yes

inactivity and food is really the problem but for a kid it is a real problem

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BradBodum 2011/06/01 17:08:45

Yes

In no way I am saying it is the sole cause, but it definitely is a contributing factor.

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ANTHONY 2011/06/01 16:37:03

Yes

You do get fat. Like when you get a new game. youll be like omg i got to finish this game. the only thing you will be working out is your fingers. So if you dont go outside clean the house well u know what i mean you will positivley be fat or grow fat.

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Lea Mirton 2011/06/01 16:35:35

No

Right, so just to clear a few things up...

Driving makes you fat
Playing videos games makes you fat
Watching too much TV makes you fat

NO, lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet makes you fat!

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Myst 2011/06/01 16:23:27

Yes

A child in front of a video game console, television, or the family computer several hours a day without exercise you'd better believe that child is going to put on the weight. From what I've observed of my friends with children, they use these activities as a babysitter for their children.

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logan48227 2011/06/01 16:00:22

No

Playing video games and not doing any exercise makes you fat. You can be a gamer and still not look like a tub of lard. Do your workout before you play and everything will still be OK. Or get the Wii, Playstation Move, or Xbox 360 Kinect workout games & do both at the same time.

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JoJoCakes. 2011/06/01 15:56:30

Yes

they get so addicted to it they play it alll the time and time

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Daedalus 2011/06/01 15:50:07 (edited)

Yes

It is not a direct cause of making you fat but it can contribute to a lifetime of bad habits like wasting tons of time that might be better spent, not exercising much, living on junk food since you are too busy gaming to cook, and for those of you participating in the partially free games that involve an alternative economic system you participate in with your real money ... you bought into a figment, the money most likely goes to China, and you are participating in the destruction of the dollar by buying things with no intrinsic value other than to entertain your increasingly simple mind since gaming, unlike reading or other pursuits will not make you smarter or stronger.

I enjoy games but not so frequently.

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jacktown kid 2011/06/01 15:35:13

No

Laziness does

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PapaBC 2011/06/01 15:22:39

Yes

Send them out to play and go with them

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VoodooDemon 2011/06/01 15:03:44

No

Any activity that involves sitting for a long time might lead to you getting fat.

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Cathy 2011/06/01 14:55:00

Yes

Yes, a person can get fat sitting all the time stuffing their mouths with junk food; not eating right and by not exercising whether watching the tube, playing videos, on the computer, and etc. But these things doesn't make a person fat, but people make themselves fat by not eating healthy and doing some form of exercise everyday.

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MassxVelocity 2011/06/01 14:46:57

No

No, YOU make you fat.

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Austin 2011/06/01 13:49:23

No

I was fat way before I started playing video games :b.

Seriously though, after losing those pounds, and while still having those pounds, I related it to food intake, and lack of exercise. I still play video games all the time, but now I'm healthy, muscular and slimming up.

I think if anything in electronics is going to cause this, it's more likely going to be excessive television, it allows people to be extremely lazy without being bored.

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angel 2011/06/01 13:34:43

Yes

only if you never get up and only eat junk food

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Tony 2011/06/01 13:31:28

No

eating too much makes you fat

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Ruger 2011/06/01 13:22:26

No

Bad metabolism makes one fat and good makes one skinny simple as that.

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Black-Hollows 2011/06/01 12:41:14

No

I play video games it doesn't make me fat...

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ELLIE 2011/06/01 12:32:46

Yes

+1
If you only doing that and stuff your face with food in between.

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u000 2011/06/01 12:30:46

Yes

+1
and lazy..

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ontinashi to u000 2011/06/01 19:40:02

if playing video games make you fat does that mean watching fitness shows makes you skinny?

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u000 to ontinashi 2011/06/02 09:58:47 (edited)

No, it's sitting for many hours and avoiding sports activities that makes you fat.

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ontinashi to u000 2011/06/02 19:08:46 (edited)

so not generally the video games fault.

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Nudenz 2011/06/01 12:21:49 (edited)

Yes

It's not so much the video games, but rather, the chips, creamy stuff, fizzy drinks, and sitting on the couch for long periods. I said yes because you don't tend to do these things in isolation.

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Tau_Seti 2011/06/01 12:16:58

No

+1
Putting too much of the wrong things in your mouth makes you FAT (keep the calories under 1200/day).

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Topdog 2011/06/01 11:43:34
Max Nastic 2011/06/01 11:30:19

No

Sitting on your ass all day does.

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Crazy Jay 2011/06/01 11:30:02

No

in fact im doing it right now....im eating a cheese burger while playing pacman ;)

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mrscas 2011/06/01 10:53:45

No

Not getting up and moving makes you fat.

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Nuke 2011/06/01 08:59:01

No

+1
They have a study for everything and there's fat people who don't play videogames and I've known really skinny people who play videogames so they really have nothing to do with it.
Stop blaming media for peoples short comings...

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janet 2011/06/01 07:58:44

Yes

Yes, I just watch a show that told about kids being sent to computer game rehab camps. No kidding, I was shocked not that there were such camps opening up throughout the world not just the USA, but that all of these kids had major heath issue related to over gaming. If anyone see the Pixart movie Wally with the little robot who went on to this ship that all the humans didn't walk and where in lazy boy type of chairs that moved around for them as they gamed or did other computer activities. Seems like we may be heading in that direction if were not careful.

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