CDC: Video gamers are fat, introverted and depressed
It might not come much as a surprise that the average video game player is now 35 years old — studies commissioned by the Entertainment Software Association have confirmed this over the past few years — but 2006 research recently unveiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims video game players were more likely to be overweight, depressed and introverted.
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Led by researcher James Weaver, this study focused on a random sampling of 552 adults, aged 19 to 90, from the Seattle-Tacoma area. Roughly 45 percent, or 249 people, were found to be video game players, with men accounting for 56 percent of this sampling.
The men who played games weighed more, on average, than the non-gamers, while the women were found to have greater levels of depression and had overall poorer health.
In a CDC statement, Weaver suggested gaming might be a form of “digital self-medication … and self-distraction” for this group.
Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, this study also found adult video gamers were less social and less extroverted than their non-gaming counterparts.
What’s your take on this? Do you think this sampling is too small – that the CDC shouldn’t make such broad assumptions with such a small sampling of the population? Or do you think this is a U.S. phenomenon and not a Canadian one?
this is BS
The comments on this study are a bit defensive! I’m a man-geek myself, but I’m not fat or depressed. That said, the results of the study are easy to believe. Most people I know who play games fit the description pretty well.
BS – with the WII sports, how can the avg. gamer be fat, depressed?
haha they are sayin average no average to all the people that own wii fit…
lol fat people buy the game play it once, and say “that was to much work for me” I know because I have the wii fit.
LOL…WII sports = athletes…LOL…stop, stop…I’m laughing too hard!
Canadian parents deserve to know the facts and so do the older
kids. I have a 12 year old grandson who loves the outdoors. But, all winter his mom lets him play his games and he is fat and pudgy to the point of developing breasts by the time spring rolls around. Most parents would behave responsibly if they had proper research to back up their decision to cut back on the kids’ gaming. Loving Nana who takes Junior out at every possible chance. My problem is that I am succumbing to arthritis and can not get out with him as much as I used to and as much as he likes.
maybe because the average gamer uses an xbox 360 or Play station, and WII sports isn’t exactly that active.
ya ok! wii sports…. have you ever even played it? I hope anyone who thinks that that video game constitutes as excercise is not reproducing…
True.
I agree. What a stupid article and a fail of a survey.
Only 56% of gamers are men? Fail survey right there.
5% of “gamers” are woman. Ill tell you that right now as a fact. Retarded bimbos who have played one arcade racing game in their life who consider themselves “gamers” are infact actually just retarded bimbos.
The study found on average gamers were overweight than an average nongamer huh? Well considering some ridiculous percentage (80%+?) of america is overweight, im going to consider that statistic incorrect.
Also because im a 23 year old, hardcore gamer, who is extremely fit, and all my friends who are gamers, are also all fit. Infact, I dont know any fat gamers at all. A statistical anomoly, or truth? I think we all know the real answer to that question.
What a joke of an article and even more of a joke of a survey.
I agree with you 100%. Im a top gamer and what happens to me is that time goes by so quickly i barely even notice im hungry, making me eat waaay less. this is bull, just look at the percentage of fat people in North America. Its McDonalds guys, not video games…
if ur an anomoly then so am i man i agree 100% all my gamer friends are fit – in fact one of them is going to japan to play for canada (rugby)
i absolutely agree.
yesterday i spent 4 hours riding my mountain bike with my friend, then we went home and i played some eve-online. thats no worse then sitting in an office at a desk.
Dude i’m a female hardcore gamer and my fiance is a hardcore gamer and we have lots of geek friends and the majority of them are girls…just because you are a chauvinistic pig doesn’t mean your right
however i do agree that the survey is BS because none of my friends or my fiance and myself are fat or even close to being overweight
You are the ‘retarded bimbo’ for calling yourself a ‘hardcore gamer’ I bet you think you’re so ‘hardcore’ because you play Call of Duty.
is that because you fit the bill? that is a defensive comment, and the fact that you read this artical would show that you spend a decent amount of time on the computer :P not that i dont
I agree 100%
a worthless study. define gamer by how many hours are played per day. define fat and introverted. are these really bad things? people who spend the day watching useless programs on t.v. are fat and useless. have you ever checked out your police force or 80% of your government workers all fat and ignorant. it takes some skill and concentration to play these games well.
hehe you play WoW dont you?
Exactly… now go lock yourself back in your grandma’s basement with your World of Warcraft Account, console your anger with cheetos!
thats quite a… gamerist???? comment and the whole grandmas house thing is stupid because if hes an adult chances are his grandma is deceaced and not all gamers play wow and eat cheetos. and hes right 80% of americas population is overweight so i suggest u stfu and btfo
I’m in my early 40′s and my Grandma is still alive and very alert and healthy. Plus she’s been living with diabetes all her life.
I agree with jon. i couldnt have said it any better.
As a hardcore gamer I have to say that I hear alot of this but don’t see it. I am the average age I suppose at 33 years old. (I’m very close to it at any rate.) I am over weight yes, but didn’t start gaining weight until my last job change about 5 years ago. It’s a sedentary job and I spend alot of time driving (sales) so I began to pack on the pounds. However, recently I began eating better and going to the gym and I have lost 30 lbs. now. So I guess there are exceptions. I can run 3 miles (not an athelete but not bad for a fat lazy bitchy gamer hey?)
I also want to comment that introversion being lumped in with obesity and depression like it’s a curable disorder really pisses me off! I am an introvert with social skills. Simply put, I don’t need to recharge my battieries by “cutting loose” or going to be group functions, in fact I hate them. I get enough people contact during my work week. There is nothing negative about not being an extrovert. I am still a people person, I have to be I’m in sales, but I am not an extrovert. I just know how to talk with, negotiate with, and build trust in relationships with other people quickly, and that’s what sales is all about.
As far as depression goes, I would say that they missed the mark there, but are on the right track with self medicating. I used to have more than one addiction, drugs and smoking. Since quitting both I fully realize that video games have become a quiet obssession for me. However, I am not putting chemicals into my body any more and they do provide me with alot of fun in my spare time for minimal cost. I really don’t see anything wrong with that. Whats worse being addicited to cheese cake or being addicted to broccoli? See my point? I realize when too much is too much of anything… but a little too much of City of Heros or Champions Online is not going to fry my brain or give mee lung cancer. Often times the depressed turn to drugs to self medicate but some of us just have obssevie personalities and addiction to anything is possible. I certainly wouldn’t say I’m depressed I actually have a pretty great life, and am quite satisfied.
Anyways I know this is a long post but the whole romanticization of the idea of a nation of us Gen Xers addicted to video games and shooting ourselves in our mom’s basements is way out of whack.
Im 33 years old
I am an account exec. for a major Fortune 500 company I make a good pile of cash each year, and contribute to the economy in a meaningful way.
I am a little bit over weight, but work out 3 times a week and eat right so that is slowly changing.
I replaced dangerous drug and cigarette addictions with online gaming.
I am happily married.
I own my own home (And mamma don’t live here.)
And most shocking of all….LOL I am in introvert with social skills!!!!!
LMAO Have a great Sunday! I’m outty!
Thank you for defending introversion. I’m so tired of people confusing introversion and shyness.
The framing of where the word was put disturbs me too – like the time I was asked to speak to a local organization about questions on its admission survey. It placed a question about sexual orientation between ones on criminal record and pedophilia (and, frankly, anyone who can answer the ‘have you ever been attracted to people under 18′ with no is lying – I mean, EVER!?). Of course, they insisted it was because they knew heterosexuals were more prone to be pedophiles. Please (that’s true, but that’s not why they framed it that way).
Hi, I’m a 52 year Male and I have played video game since the seventies (and Yes I used to plug quaters in PONG. That beening said Before PONG I loved playing pinball machines aswell (true gamer). But It just maybe me (and of course laziness as age creeps on) I am normally quite social but I do find myself ,more and more getting addicted to the games. I like I said could be age,how good the game are now, but more and more I find myself excusing myself from social events to get back to the game. And I agree with what you say about drugs and alcohol and gaming.I am not over weight but a real sport I love is skiing which has helped keep me semi-fit, I have found myself conficting at times over the games and skiing. So I guess I’m saying becareful all these additions that we have seem to get heaveier over time. Bye the way got to get back to my lastest game FALLOUT 3.
:O that is all :O
A tip of the hat to you good sir
true and there are studies done to them as well dont be offended its i true.
yes but you say all of this to someones face?
As a computer internet everyday person, I have noticed my weight increasing. These variety unique games can be so good playing yet very addicting. There is so much choices now then 20 years ago with the computer games. I don’t know about inverted as so The world is changing around us with the gaming industry in my opinion.
Interesting results. I’d like to see a bigger study, but that’s not the most important part. What really matters is that everyone remembers: Correlation does not imply causation.
In my observayions over the years, i would estimate that 85% of Americans are fat anyway, gamers or not…Anyway, on the other side of the coin, i must wonder how many active people, high school athleats and the like, hava a miserable time in later life suffering with “old sports injuries” There just ain`t no paradise !
The problem with these studies is that they report a relationship but can’t determine cause and effect.
Did the females studied become depressed because of computer use, or did they turn to the computer because they were already depressed and didn’t feel like interacting with people or going outside the house?
Did the men gain weight because of computers, or are men who are physically less active more inclined to choose sedentary activities such as computer use?
This kind of study isn’t terribly useful unless it can establish what is cause and what is effect.
I now have an irresistable urge to eat my computer. Mmmm.
Thats actually a really good point. Kudos to you.
Very good point.
I was never into sports and my older brother owned a computer company ( one of the first in our city) way back in the early 80′s so computers have been a part of my life all along.
wow i never thought of it that way.. and it makes perfect sense too… you good sir are a genius
bahahahahahahahaha……..
LMAO.
perhaps the fat ones should play the wii instead.
As a Mod on an large online game i strongly disagree with some of what is written above. Presently we are seeing a drop in memberships as the school atheltic programs kick in. These kids are headed off to train for the up coming seasons of rugby, football, and other sports. They are dropping memberships and reminding freinds they won’t be back for an extended period of time. WOW, Runescape and many other of the games are clan orriented, to be in a clan socialization is mandatory, and even for those not formally in a clan it is often the social networking that addicts them to the game.
I agree with the above comments. the terminology is cast about with out benefit of accurate definitions or comparisions to what is actually standard. How do these stats stand and compare to the general populace? And such a small test group, perhaps it is only an indication that Seattle needs to consider the physical and mental health of it’s residents?
Hey lady chicory,
Still a mod on RS eh, I haven’t played in a while. I would have to agree with the general opinion of the people replying to this. I am 31, athletic, play games everyday, and I am an extrovert….
Assumptions and bad data… i would LOVE to see them come to my family. all 6 of us play WoW and are healthy and nowhere near overweight or depressed. Add that to your data :)
I’m sure there are correlations, but…I am neither fat nor depressed. I would like to think that people who watch the same amount of television are also fat, depressed and introverted. Depressed and introverted because they’re fat? COULD BE!!
P.S.
The game I play ran a survey some time back asking people thier gender and ages. There are many people around the age 35 playing this much is quiet true. However the male to female ratio is 4 males per female. I have trouble comprehending how it would be assumed a woman in such an postion would be depressed. Women’s ego are constantly stroked, stoked and flattered, (sometimes to the point of irritation). Our companionship is sought after, but not for our bodies as there is no access to it. These men simply want what is between our ears, a good conversation. To say that is depresssing is quiet insulting. Again perhaps the symptoms noticed in survey had more to do with who came forward to volunteer, and less to do with the fact that they played games.
so i am a 21 year old female gamer and i live with my 22 year old gamer bf and our 25 year old gamer friend. between the three of us we have 3 xboxes 2 wii’s a ps2 3 computers and all of the classic consoles as well as handhelds. we log a lot of hours. but we all walk around and live in a small town and dont have a subway. so as a result we all weigh under 200 lbs- most of us under 150…infact i weigh 112 lbs myself and log atleast 3 hours a day gaming. my bf is 6 ft and 148 lbs and he logs about 7 hrs average a day when he works and 12 on his days off. and we just went for physicals and were given a clean bill of health even our cholesterol is perfect. all of my friends game – my parents (51 and 40) and my sisters and brother (13,15,25) all play wow togehter. and all are healthy fit and skinny as a rail. i think if the people who did this survey did it in small towns – or low income areas, they would find extremely different results. o yeah, were not depressed. all of us have jobs, relationships, hobbies, we party with each other as often as we game online with each other. and whoever says gaming isnt social obviously doesnt have a headset for their xbox.
3 hours a day…..7 hours a day….12 hours a day? so all you do is game and work(oh ya and party) assuming you sleep 6-8 hours a day and you think your ok….wake up….get a life…try something else, your wasting your life lookin at a screen, living a fantasy world. Have your boyfriend take you somewhere, go fishing, hiking, play ball, whatever…..you are living a shallow life, obviously not normal….you got to understand you guys are addicted and if your not then I challenge you guys to stop cold turkey for 1 month….you could never do it, you will have every excuse or justification why you don’t need to. Hey I live with a kid who is addicted, he lives strictly for gaming and when he can play next.If I would allow him he would play 24 hours a day, he would try to do without sleep…gaming is fine when its just entertainment a few hours a week but when brought to your level its an addiction….you are really living a very shallow life,if your not depressed then people that care about you should be (if they actually realize the scope of your guys addiction)…and it is this kind of gaming that the rest of society sees as a problem. The way you defend your addiction pretty much is ridiculous but then again, thats the way of an addict.Have a good life.
how is doing something you love while staying healthy, making an income and being social a shallow life? if you found something you enjoyd as much as those ppl enjoy there videogames dont you think youd do it alot to? and if you could stay healthy and keep an income wouldnt that just make it all the better? and the rest of society does not see it as a problem. you do. mayb a few of your friends whom you convinced. but other than that. and saying the way they defend there “addiction” is ridiculous is just the idiots way of dodging a really good point. so why dont you think before you open your ill-informed mouth :L
getting out and playing an outdoor game will only introduce you to the same group of friends every single time you do it due to the enclosed nature of a neighborhood…however if you game then you can be introduced to people all over the world and learn about many different cultures if you interact with the people who you are playing with (which most people do)…and if you view this as shallow than i pity you for being so close minded and “shallow” yourself, since by your comments i can see you have never come close to being a gamer…and if you view gaming for 3, 7, or 12 hours as being addicted in 3 grown adults then i suggest you reevaluate the comparison with of your son. you said yourself that if you let him he would play 24/7. you are talking to adults who obviously have full say in what they do, if they were addicted then they would be blowing off work to play, and not just indulging on days when they are off work.if they are healthy in body and mind then i don’t think you have the right to condemn their behavior based on your experience with your own child who has probably not finished developing yet and still doesn’t have adequate self control.
I’m a female gamer in my 20s. I’m in great shape and used to model for years. I’ve played video/computer games since I was 6 and have just about every system that has came out since then. I’m not depressed or introverted in anyway, I just choose to play video games to relax rather than watch reality tv shows or other tv programs. I think many people choose games just as an alternate to tv.
Anyone in this post on the “pro” side of gaming needs to look at themselves in the mirror. The study says nothing about gaming causing any of the so called side effects, it just says that the average person who’s playing is a 35 year old fat male loner. This is certainly fact.
The idea that there is a social aspect to gaming, or that women players are adored for what they think and feel are both absurd. This is basically the disintigration of culture and human interaction that are occurring in the 21st century. Go talk to someone at a coffee shop, that is social interaction. Having them send you a message in Second Life saying they like your avatar’s tattoo, that is not social interaction. They are sitting behind a square shiny box screen pretending to be whatever they please, and yes a certain percentage are themselves, but a large percentage are not.
Go talk to a real person.
lol if you talk about avatars then you clearly have no life…
actually i find it rather funny that you would say it is certainly fact when it was a study of just over 500 ppl and that only ppl in the seatlle tacoma area were takin in the survey… that means its FAR from fact. and actually its the growth of culture and human interaction of the 21st century… could you talk to some1 in russia about your new bf/gf in the 20th century? also those ppl are real the avatars arent, they are a reflection of a person in a world with little to no boundries, but the ppl behind them are just as real as if it were in person. and how is it not social interaction for some1 to tell you they like your avatars tatto that is DEFINATLY social interaction because you are interacting with someone. and btw if you were to randomly sit next to a very pretty girl/boy in a coffe shop and strike up a convorsation they would either think your really wierd, a stalker, a pervert, a retard or that you are heavily medicated. and i know that in my guild on WoW the females are the most popular because like they say in the movies “a womans touch” as in they bring a whole new perspective to the table and since there arent many females that new perspective could be just the edge you need.
14 year old gamer~
Pretty good article…except most of us are already living in the computer generation. It’s like when television was invented; many were addicted, but not all who were addicted were ruined. It completely depended on every person who was addicted to television if they wanted to lose themselves in indulgence, of course. Not everyone chose to. The arrival of the computer age was just like the arrival of the television age. Nothing good or bad would come of it; it’s just a drastic change in tradition. Of course, this article is still hinting that us gamers are fatter, more depressed introverts than “normal” people, so I think it’d do gamers (who can’t handle addiction well) good to excersize a little more self-control. Particularly myself, actually :P…
Yeah. Makes sense
The participants were 19 to 90. The average age of gamers in this group was 35. I would think the vast majority of gamers are under 19. If you included a proportionate sample from this age group, the average gamer would be a lot younger.
Der Randy Holland
It is clear you are not a female gamer (or a gamer at all). As a mod I see the effects of it daily, both positive and negative. Are you suggesting those who befreind us are doing so because they feel we lack brains? How demeaning. People enjoy each others companionship due to the fact that they are inteligent,and not based on real life biases like the size of an anatomy. Conversation on a game is all the contact there is until you get to meet in real life so it better be intelligent. Often in depth topics as having cancer, child raising, family issues, or buying a new home is discussed. As a mod I also have dealt with things like suicides, child abuse, shock after a murder, and natural death, not exactly frivilous topics. My real life brain is very engaged. I have personally been to real life weddings of people who have met online in our game. Meeting offline is not uncommon. On the subject of thinking Runescape for instance also requires real life skills to move you character ahead even Algerbra at one point.
Your comment quote “The idea that there is a social aspect to gaming, or that women players are adored for what they think and feel are both absurd.” unquote
This show a complete lack of knowledge about gaming on a whole, and a potentially a deameaning opinion about women in general. Perhaps the only reason you fnid it absurb is due to the fact that you couldn’t comprehend a woman as an equal on or off game. And I never used the word “adored” so please in future quote me in context.
Hmmm as a MOD, you of all people should be able to pay attention to names. Randy Holland, look pretyt much to be a guy.
Now as a MOD you should be able to see and admit that your average game is a Loner, Overweight (and if you have a pot belly, that brings you into the category of overweight) and that a fair number of gamers play extensivly to escape their own lives (meaning depression.
Now I have watch my family and friends who are gamers. Who are over weight, have depression and unfortunaly living at home with their parents and 27 years old. Who would rather sit at home and play WoW, avoid life, avoid work, avoid anything that doesnt deal with eating, sleeping, gaming or watching tv.
Now lets face it, for the most part the majority of the people who responded to this article aren’t your average game. In fact your average gamer wouldnt read this article because your average gamer wouldnt;t spend any time reading the news online.
Lets face facts, Gen X people had atari, nintendo and still went outside and played kickball, stick ball, tag and hide and seek.
Gen Y still had the nintendo, sega and perhaps played games a lil bit more and yet still went outside.
Gen .COM had the playstation Wii and computer games, and it’s a rarity to see kids playing games outside, being active and well in all being lazy.
Myself, I work full time, 5 days a week, I’m 33, I play games occasionally (except games like WoW) But I make a point of staying active and going outside. in fact This morning I went fishing at the pier near my place.
But for the most part your average gamer is a looser that has a potbelly and lacks a social life and their world revolves around a computer screen, their imagination, online friends who they will probably never meet, a dirty magazine and a box of tissue papers.
Your grammer is terrible, you spelled gamer “game” several times, and your comment about gamers being fat lazy losers at home with dirty magazines and tissue papers tells me you also have no class. Kudos to you for letting us know what life for you well educated, and socially well adjusted people who go fishing for exercise is like. LMAO (That means Laugh my ass off, for all you thin healthy socially well adjusted smart people like this guy.) You are the reason I get mad at gamer stereo types. Can you run 3 or more miles? (I can and I’m a gamer… and Im still fit; go figure!) Did you take a sixer down to the pier with you while you were fishing? You seem like that kind of dumb redneck. I don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t do drugs, I go to church, and I take care of my wife other life responsibilities… there are more important things than gaming of course, but it is my hobby and I do log a good solid 15-30 hours a week on my gaming and I am not ashamed of that. How many hours of Sports do you watch each week? How much time do you waste golfing? How many hours do model railroad enthusiasts waste painting little buildings while wearing a conductors hat? to me that is really wierd. Go give them a hard time and tell them they have an addiction and are depressed. All that stuff bores the crap out of me and all of those pursuits are just as much of a waste of time as you think gaming is. Truthfully no “hobby” is all that productive a way to spend time, that’s why it’s a hobby, its a way to do something to take your mind of your day to day life. Go down to the pier and go fishing and do us all a favor and keep your opinions to your self, or at the very least learn how to type in full coherant sentances like grown up, and maybe I’ll be a litle nicer to you and treat you with a little more respect after you run down one of the biggest and most lucritive hobbies(for the industry) on the planet enjoyed by 100′s of millions worldwide.
Wow, that is some ownage right there P dizzo. I agree with you whole heartedly.
Ok well ive been gaming since I was 3 I think, im 21 now so thats alot of gaming.
While I agree im an introvert…I still go out every weekend to hang with friends and also watch monthly UFC fights, I go out to movies with them, I go golfing and swimming(sometimes)but am I sedatary?? yes. I log between 6-10 hours of online gaming per day usually.
Im sure as hell not overweight, im 5’10 and weigh 140 pounds, im pretty skinny with alot of muscle mass. Not depressed either, im making alot of money and have 3-4 close friends and my family so thats just super for me.
Currently im self employed as an online poker player, but I had been playing tons of MMORPGS(WoW,L2,GW,CoH) for about 6-7 years and I sometimes felt that ive just been wasting precious time. I looked around online and figured well I enjoy poker/money and I enjoy online interaction, kinda fit together.
I found that poker is still extreamly sedatary….at least im not wasting my time pointlessly leveling characters and im actually making more money than anyone I know. (adult or teens lol)
To be fair as pdizzo stated, any hobby is pretty much a time waster and is not ment to benefit “life” in general. Wheather its MMORPGS, FPSs, online poker, whatever, its just something you do because you enjoy it and as long as its done it moderation no one should have the right to complain.
grammAR!
“your grammAr is terrible!”
…..fool.
Dear P Dizzo.
First off..
Weird, coherent sentences, yourself, and lucrative. To name a few things.
Not to mention that your punctuation is atrocious.
That said;
This is not just a problem with weight. People are secluding themselves in basements, in their rooms, and not interacting with the world. This is a growing trend. Articles like these are around to raise awareness. So when it does in fact become a reality, the people who write these articles can tell all the nay sayers “I told you so.” No one ever does anything, it’s written, it’s talked about, but no action is taken. So they’re not that far off when saying, “Video Gamers are fat, introverted and depressed.” You see articles like these as “facts” when some people might look it as a problem and ask “How can I fix this?”
[...] 23, 2009 · Leave a Comment CDC: Video gamers are fat, introverted and depressed – It might not come much as a surprise that the average video game player is now 35 years old [...]
applies*
this applis only for wowers rofl.