What would you say if I told you that playing video games could potentially lead to healthier eating habits?
You’d probably call me insane. After all, everyone knows that horrendous food – from energy drinks to Doritos to Hot Pockets – is a staple of gaming life, right? How exactly can game time make someone even remotely healthier?
Apparently, by causing us to eat less. Professor Nick Bellissimo – who studies nutrition at Ryerson University – recently completed a study where two groups of kids were served a pizza lunch. He found that the kids who played Angry Birds before eating took in fifty fewer calories than those who didn’t.
"This finding is the first time anyone has shown that playing videogames contributes to lower energy intake at the next meal," Bellissimo explained. "This should cause a re-examination of how screen time affects children’s eating behavior."
The study involved a group of children aged nine to fourteen, all of whom had a relatively healthy body weight. Half of the kids involved in the study played Angry Birds for half an hour, the other half did nothing but sit quietly. Bellissimo also measured the moods of his participants, noting that those who arrived happier and more excited also tended to eat less.
So…long story short, it looks like kids who are kept happy and entertained tend not to overeat.
This research is part of a larger study involving the impact of screen time on the appetite of children. Later studies will involve "more animated games which may elicit a wider spectrum of emotions." The findings in this study – assuming they remain consistent – could lead to further developments in the field of nutrition,
Via Polygon
