A recent study conducted by Curtin University has shed light on the impact of video gaming on students’ health. The research surveyed 317 students from various Australian universities, with participants having a median age of 20.

The study categorized the participants into three distinct groups based on their gaming habits: “low gamers” who played zero to five hours per week, “moderate gamers” who engaged in gaming for five to 10 hours weekly, and “high gamers” who spent over 10 hours on video games each week.

According to the findings, students who gamed for 10 hours or less per week reported similar health outcomes. However, those who exceeded the 10-hour threshold experienced significantly worse health results.

Professor Mario Siervo, from the Curtin School of Population Health, emphasized that the issue appears to be the excessive amount of gaming rather than gaming itself. “The significant observation was that students gaming up to 10 hours a week showed similar patterns in terms of diet, sleep, and body weight,” Siervo explained.

“What stood out was students gaming up to 10 hours a week all looked very similar in terms of diet, sleep and body weight,” Siervo said.

“The real differences emerged in those gaming more than 10 hours a week, who showed clear divergence from the rest of the sample.”

The study found a decline in diet quality once gaming exceeded 10 hours per week, with a greater prevalence of obesity in the high gamers group, compared to the low and moderate gamers.

“Each additional hour of gaming per week was linked to a decline in diet quality, even after accounting for stress, physical activity and other lifestyle factors,” Professor Siervo said.

All groups reported generally poor sleep quality, but moderate and high gamers scored worse than low gamers, with gaming hours showing a significant link to sleep disruption.

“This study doesn’t prove gaming causes these issues, but it shows a clear pattern that excessive gaming may be linked to an increase in health risk factors,” Professor Siervo said.

“Our data suggests low and moderate gaming is generally fine, but excessive gaming may crowd out healthy habits such as eating a balanced diet, sleeping properly and staying active.

“Because university habits often follow people into adulthood, healthier routines such as taking breaks from gaming, avoiding playing games late at night and choosing healthier snacks may help improve their overall wellbeing.”