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Anam Omar Muse

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Ian P.

Wikipedia article contribution final

VIDEO GAMES & OBESITY

What is childhood obesity? childhood obesity is a medical condition and its very serious. Childhood obesity is a big problem in today’s generation. Children stay on their phones or play video games all day. Video games contribute to obesity because kids lose sleep, get districted, are socially awkward turn to food and don’t exercise. Parents let their kids eat whatever and they stay inside the house or their room and they eat unhealthy. They don’t take it serious that sitting all day and not being active is unhealthy. Kids should spend less time playing video games because it is unhealthy for them physically and mentally. Yes a child can play video games and watch TV but let them be active too. There is nothing wrong with videogames and TV but children also have to physically go play outside and run around. This one article that I read also talks about studies that were done. It says, “The American Academy of Pediatrics tells parents that children’s total entertainment media time should not exceed two hours daily.” (Are TV and Video Games Making Kids Fat?). A study shows that kids should play with technology for two hours yet in reality some kids stay on their phones or video games for almost 24 hours. Another article talks about “Studies that follow children over long periods of time have consistently found that the more TV children watch, the more likely they are to gain excess weight.” (TV, video games linked to obesity) The easiest way for a child to gain weight is to sit all day and watching TV or playing video games is and excuse. Its easy for a child to gain weight if they sit all day let alone eating unhealthy while sitting all day. Studies have been show that the more technology improves the more the rate of obesity increases. As quoted in the article “THURSDAY, Aug. 23, 2012 (HealthDay News) -- The increasing amount of time that people spend using computers, playing video games and watching TV is a major factor in rising rates of obesity worldwide, according to a new study” (Modern Technology Adds to Worldwide Obesity Woes: Report). It is proven that watching TV and playing games isn’t good for you mentally and physically. In today's generation kids rather be on technology then actually be active outside with friends. “I know that when it comes to childhood obesity, too much screen time may add to unhealthy habits that can last a lifetime. In general, kids today prefer spending hours watching TV or playing with their tablet computer instead of heading outdoors to a park or getting active with friends.” (Childhood Obesity & Technology – What’s the connection?). It’s very easy for kids to get distracted with technology because their parents allow them to use it. Now I’m not saying parents want to use technology in bad way but they believe that it's okay to have children play with their video games or watch TV because, well the kid is quiet and busy. Its easy for a parent to forget that a child is around if they aren’t making nosy. Like if the child is not running around and then parents aren’t going to bother them. They are just going to let them do their thing. The other thing is that if kids start out at a young age to play video games or each TV as they grow up its going to be easier for them to adopted to their habit and just do it as if it's normal in the long run. For example their was a kid in my high school and we basically grow up together and in middle school he really didn’t have a lot of friends so he started playing video games and as we got to high school he told me “he played with his friends online” and so I asked him “who is your friends Kevin” and he said “these people I met online, we play video games together” and I asked him “have you seen these friends of your in person” and he said “no I don’t need to we just play video games together”. Honestly I was shocked because personally I wouldn’t talk to anyone I don’t know in real life let alone play with them online. Indeed, the young boy from my high school was really out shape and that’s because he literally played video games every single min he could. I honestly believe that its easier for kids with depressions or kids that have a hard to socializing are the ones to get obese real fast. This article proved that I was right. As stated in the article “The new study found that children who are more likely to become addicted to video games (which the researchers call "pathological" video gaming) are those who spend a lot of hours playing these games, have trouble fitting in with other kids and are more impulsive than children who aren't addicted.” (Video Game 'Addiction' Tied to Depression, Anxiety in Kids). After reading this article it seems so reasonable that kids who watch TV and play video games are obese because they have an excuse that they are hiding from the world. However at the same time parents should know these things about their children. When you see your child acting abnormal is it to notice but as they find things to hide behind is hard to find what’s wrong with them. No, I’m not saying kids being obese are because of their parents but what I’m saying is that parents should not allow their children to play on technology all day. Its easier to tech your child to play with video games less while they are young but if they get older doing the wrong thing then it's going to be harder for as a parent to tell them what to do in their teenage years. With today's technology there are ways to make your child active while they play video game. Video games are sitting and having a controller but there are videos you can play on your XBOX that are active. The most popular video on XBOX is “just dance” and it’s fun and very active. "I used to think exercise was boring," she said, "but when I play games with the Xbox, I don't think of it as exercise and I still get the benefits to my health. The Xbox Kinect helped me be more active, particularly during the winter when it can be harder to be outside.” (Study: Active Video Gaming Can Help Children Increase Physical Activity and Reduce Weight). This article is about how when people discovered video games can be active they want to do it. In conclusion video games are unhealthy but also very healthy. Video games can be unhealthy because kids lose sleep, get distracted, and are socially awkward, turn to food and lack of exercise. Be active as a child is very important because it's easier for children to lose weight because they have so much energy and their metabolism is faster. Playing video games makes kids socially awkward because they tend to play with their video game or watch TV and forget how to communicate with their peers. As we all know communication is key to life. However video games can be active because there are video games that can be active. Dance games that can make anyone even video gamers active. Childhood Obesity is a big problem and should be taken care of. There are so many ways to prevent obesity so lets figure something out and make sure our generation or the one after doesn’t experience obesity.

WORK CITED: 1.http://consumer.healthday.com/mental-health-information-25/behavior-health-news-56/modern-technology-adds-to-worldwide-obesity-woes-report-667957.html 2.http://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2012/11/12/TV-video-games-linked-to-obesity/stories/201211120171 3.http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2012/04/are_video_games_making_kids_fat_screen_time_and_childhood_obesity_.html 4.https://www.floridahospital.com/blog/childhood-obesity-technology-whats-connection#sthash.bHPsI1qc.dpuf 5.http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2011/01/17/video-game-addiction-tied-to-depression-anxiety-in-kids 6.http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/newsroom/articles/feed/unitedhealth%20group/2014/0303studyactivegaming.aspx