(11-06-11) Video game playing increases food intake in adolescents: a randomized crossover study1,2,3

1. Jean-Philippe Chaput,
2. Trine Visby,
3. Signe Nyby,
4. Lars Klingenberg,
5. Nikolaj T Gregersen,
6. Angelo Tremblay,
7. Arne Astrup, and
8. Anders Sj?din
+ Author Affiliations
1. 1From the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada (J-PC); the Department of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark (TV, SN, LK, NTG, AA, and AS); and the Division of Kinesiology, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec City, Canada (AT).
+ Author Notes
? ↵2 Supported by The Nordea Denmark Foundation (OPUS Centre; Optimal well-being, development and health for Danish children through a healthy New Nordic Diet).
? ↵3 Address correspondence to J-P Chaput, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract
Background: Video game playing has been linked to obesity in many observational studies. However, the influence of this sedentary activity on food intake is unknown.
Objective: The objective was to examine the acute effects of sedentary video game play on various components of energy balance.
Design: With the use of a randomized crossover design, 22 healthy, normal-weight, male adolescents (mean ? SD age: 16.7 ? 1.1 y) completed two 1-h experimental conditions, namely video game play and rest in a sitting position, followed by an ad libitum lunch. The endpoints were spontaneous food intake, energy expenditure, stress markers, appetite sensations, and profiles of appetite-related hormones.
Results: Heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, sympathetic tone, and mental workload were significantly higher during the video game play condition than during the resting condition (P < 0.05). Although energy expenditure was significantly higher during video game play than during rest (mean increase over resting: 89 kJ; P < 0.01), ad libitum energy intake after video game play exceeded that measured after rest by 335 kJ (P < 0.05). A daily energy surplus of 682 kJ (163 kcal) over resting (P < 0.01) was observed in the video game play condition. The increase in food intake associated with video game play was observed without increased sensations of hunger and was not compensated for during the rest of the day. Finally, the profiles of glucose, insulin, cortisol, and ghrelin did not suggest an up-regulation of appetite during the video game play condition.
Conclusion: A single session of video game play in healthy male adolescents is associated with an increased food intake, regardless of appetite sensations. The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01013246.

Source: Am J Clin Nutr June 2011 vol. 93 no. 6 1196-1203

News

---

In evidenza

"L'informazione presente nel sito serve a migliorare, e non a sostituire, il rapporto medico-paziente."

Per coloro che hanno problemi di salute si consiglia di consultare sempre il proprio medico curante.