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Physical Health Effects of Playing Video Games
Video games play a significant role in the entertainment sector of the current world.
Long-term involvement in video games makes a person lazy and adversely causes physical
disorders. Video game addicts often suffer from high blood pressure and a higher heartbeat rate
due to excitement and stress. One can also have vision-related issues because of sticking on the
screen for long periods. Overweight and obesity are also associated with addiction to video
games.
The addictive playing of video games causes physical strain on the neck, hands, and
back. One's shoulder can be stiffened due to strenuous arm movements and poor sitting posture
for long hours, by Joseph Green’s “Video Games and Physical Health” Black under-eye rings
can also emerge as a result of a lack of an adequate amount of sleep. Dr. Matthew Edlund, the
author of the journal “The Power of Rest” suggests that teens should get enough sleep to develop
long-term memory helpful for learning, maintaining good health and strengthen attention while
driving.
A game-related musculoskeletal condition known as Nintendonitis results from too much
gaming and is explained as a repetitive strain injury (Norris et al.). Inconvenience levels and pain
is measured regarding musculoskeletal tissues of the neck, eye, back, shoulders, fingers, wrists,
and hands. Gaming for more than two hours a day increases the risk of strain and discomfort of
the utilized body parts.
Health problems such as weight gain and obesity are also attributed to video gaming and
physical activity avoidance. Too much gaming leads to eating disorders such as overeating or
eating even if one is not hungry. Clyde Yancy, the AHA’s president suggested that, “we can
insist on primary body exercise to make significant changes regarding obesity or try out
something new and provocative.”
Nevertheless, video games have positive effects which include shaping attentiveness and
improvement of eye conditions in terms of visual attention and eye- hand coordination, ‘playing
fast and action- filled video games meaningfully sharpens vision’ by the journal of Psychological
Science. This is proven by how one can be able to trace a target in pile of objects, watch many
items at a go and monitor objects streaming in steadily. Positive effects of video gaming are also
evident by the existence of video games that physically engages movements of a gamer’s body
hence acting as a source of physical exercise.
Controlled playing of video games however prevents the occurrence of the negative
effects. Moderate involvement in video games do not harm a person’s physical health. Video
games should therefore be played for fun while watching out for any possibility of addiction.
Bavelier says that, “video gaming needs to be done properly.” This is because she thinks that
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there is more to life than the benefits accrued from video gaming. Some video games make a
gamer to be aggressive and leads to a changed behavior hence increasing spread of violence.

Works cited

Norris, Emma, et al. “Active Video Games in Schools and Effects on Physical Activity and

Health: A Systematic Review.” The Journal of Pediatrics, vol. 172, May 2016, pp. 40-

46.e5, 10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.02.001.