Recent research spearheaded by Curtin University has delved into the gaming habits of 317 students from Australian universities, revealing intriguing insights about the impact of gaming on young adults. The study participants, with a median age of 20, were categorized into three distinct groups based on their weekly gaming hours.

The groups were defined as “low gamers,” who engaged in zero to five hours of video gaming per week, “moderate gamers,” with five to ten hours, and “high gamers,” who spent over ten hours playing. The study’s findings highlighted a significant shift in health outcomes as gaming hours increased.

While low and moderate gamers exhibited similar health profiles, a stark contrast emerged among those gaming more than ten hours weekly. Professor Mario Siervo, from the Curtin School of Population Health, emphasized that excessive gaming, rather than gaming itself, was the crux of the issue.

“Students who gamed up to ten hours a week were quite similar in terms of diet, sleep, and body weight,” remarked Siervo. “However, those exceeding ten hours showed marked differences, diverging noticeably from their less frequent gaming peers.”

“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.”