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Most gamers fat and miserable, finds study

Thirtysomethings

Overweight? Depressed? Aged 35? Answer 'yes' to all three and you are almost certainly a gamer.

So suggests a joint study conducted by scientists from the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC), Emory University in Atlanta and Andrews University in Michigan. Researchers concluded that frequent gamers tend to be fatter and of less sunny disposition than non-gamers. Their average age is 35.

The study quizzed 500 adults aged between 19 and 90 from Washington state. Around 45 per cent said they played games often.

Female gamers reported greater levels of depression and a lower quality of health than non-gaming girls. Male gamers generally had a higher Body Mass Index (BMI) values than non-gaming boys.

Both male and female gamers were found to have a higher reliance on the web for social support than non-gamers, the study said.

Dr James B Weaver of the CDC said: “Internet community support and time spent online distinguished adult videogame players from non-players, a finding consistent with prior research pointing to the willingness of adult video-game enthusiasts to sacrifice real-world social activities to play video games." ®

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