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Video Games Make People Fat and Mean

Posted by CowboyNeal on Tue Mar 02, 2004 05:10 PM
from the somewhat-obvious dept.
Links Entertainment Games
dblh3l1x writes "Reuters is reporting that a Swedish group finds 'Video games can make children fat and, in the case of violent games popular among teenage and younger boys, aggressive and even criminal.' These articles make me want to hurt someone. If I didn't get out of breath so easily, I'd go hurt someone right now, so instead I'm just going to go play the Unreal Tournament 2004 demo again."
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[+] McDonald's UK CEO Blames Video Games for Childhood Obesity 321 comments
BoingBoing is reporting that Steve Eaterbrook, McDonald's UK CEO, says that video games are leading the charge in obesity. He does have the decency to at least admit fatty foods are a part of the problem, but points the finger at interactive games for keeping kids indoors and not out burning off energy. "According to The Times, McDonalds UK is 'on the brink of its best year for two decades'. The firm has enjoyed six per cent like-for-like sales growth in the last year. More than 88 million visits were made to McDonald's restaurants last month, up 10 million on the previous year." Don't forget, we have known for ages that video games make us fat and mean.
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  • Well... (Score:4, Funny)

    by josefcub (212738) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:11PM (#8445465) Journal
    I don't know about mean, but I'm sure that if I excercised instead of played UT2k3, I'd probably be in a lot better shape. :)

    • From the article:

      Video games can make children fat

      ...
      some children became addicted to video games, spending all their waking hours in front of a computer screen gorging potato chips, pizza and soft drinks.

      Anyone else pick this up?

  • Post hoc ergo propter hoc (Score:5, Insightful)

    by hey! (33014) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:11PM (#8445471) Homepage Journal
    Actually video games attract people who are fat and mean.

    Fit mean people beat other up in the real world.
    • I think the way it works is like this. Video games tend to attract kids who don't like to do very much in the way of physical activity. Thus, the more the play, the fatter they will get from sitting on their ass all day playing videogames. Now, what happens after that isn't that they become mean. I personally think it's more like these gamers find something that they are good at. As they get better they develop a sense of elitism. Then, due to poor self-image or low self-esteem they feel the need to belittl

      • Re:Post hoc ergo propter hoc (Score:5, Insightful)

        by hey! (33014) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @08:12PM (#8447285) Homepage Journal
        My original post was a joke, but let me make an observation relative to your point: it may actually be true that video games attract kids that don't like physical activity, but that's not the whole story. You have to consider that for many people they are not particularly self limiting activities, and can crowd out other activities such as exercise or eating. Either way its not good when taken to extreme.

        I'm a long time martial artist. Real world fighting is self limiting, because you get tired and hurt. Virtual fighthing gives some of the same stimulation but without the pain and fatigue. This stimulation is important because it counteracts fatigue and lets you go longer.

        Very few activities are less self-limiting than video games. Even reading is self-limiting because it doesn't give you the physical stimulation gaming does, so you get tired. That said, I've often spent too much time with a really book and had it cut into my sleeping and other activity time. But eventualy you finish the book; video games can be played over and over again without repeating exactly.

        For that reason, I would say that for some people games are likely to distort the healthy balance of activities that includes exercise, sleep and socialization. It doesn't really matter for those people whether they are fat because of inactivity or thin because they don't eat.

  • right on!!! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:13PM (#8445486)
    Want to get back at that school bully who has been taking your lunch money? Play more Quake! Then you can be big and mean and whoop his ass!

    What are you waiting for, four eyes? Get busy gaming so you can take your vengence!

    • Re:right on!!! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by bigman2003 (671309) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:31PM (#8445623) Homepage
      Videogames can be a catharsis for a lot of kids. Teenage boys just NATURALLY have a lot of anger, and frustration. Videogames can be an outlet for that.

      The woman who leads a group of mothers against videogames doesn't understand that these kids need an outlet. Masturbation will only take these boys so far, and they need some way to get out their anger, frustration, and desire to set things on fire.

      Give them a good game, and a magazine to spank to- and a few hours later he'll come out of his room calm, and ready to cooperate.

      Actually...I'm serious...

      • Re:right on!!! (Score:5, Funny)

        by TruffleGuy (664280) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:49PM (#8445769) Homepage
        "Masturbation will only take these boys so far, and they need some way to get out their anger, frustration, and desire to set things on fire.'

        I dont know about you but umm... I don't think masturbation is a way to vent anger, frustration, and the desire to set things on fire.

        • Re:right on!!! (Score:5, Funny)

          by Sick Boy (5293) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @06:08PM (#8445988) Homepage
          I don't think masturbation is a way to vent anger, frustration, and the desire to set things on fire.

          I don't think you're getting enough friction. Use a bit less lotion and the fire will start.

        • Actually, I said the exact opposite of what you are inferring.

          I said that Masturbation will only take them so far, and they need some way to get out their anger, frustration, and desire to set things on fire. (Which you kindly quoted)

          So- they need an ADDITIONAL outlet for those urges. Masturbation does NOT cover those areas.

          That is where videogames comes in.

          So- you pretty much supported my statements- masturbation will relieve *some* of their frustrations, for they can use games for some of the others
      • I would also like to suggest steroids if your child is having trouble letting his adolescent anger out.

        • Re:right on!!! (Score:5, Insightful)

          by bigman2003 (671309) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @06:33PM (#8446236) Homepage
          Have you ever tried NOT jerking off?

          First of all- it's really tough. Second of all, about 30 minutes after I decide not to jerk off anymore, I am wildly horny.

          After a few days (if it ever gets that far) my dog starts to look really, really good.

          I don't think I've ever gone beyond a few days. If for no other reason...why put myself through it?

          So yes- I really do think masturbation is a catharsis.

          Okay, here is the standard flimsy statement where I try to get you to believe I am not a total loser...but since nobody knows me, no point in really trying:

          Yes, I have intercourse with a female on a very regular basis. I still masturbate, because I enjoy it.

          And to stay on-topic...Umm...videogames don't make people violent- violent people make videogames.

  • Fat and mean? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:14PM (#8445497)
    Hey Limbaugh! Put down that damn joystick!

  • Funny, I thought calories made people fat (Score:5, Insightful)

    by wowbagger (69688) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:18PM (#8445521) Homepage Journal
    Funny, I thought that calories made people fat.

    So, if I stop eating but play lots of video games I will gain weight?

    I really hope that horribly bad statement was the reporter paraphasing (badly) the studies, rather than the conclusion the researchers came up with.
    • Funny, I thought that calories made people fat.

      It's caloric intake exceeding caloric expenditure that makes people fat. Playing video games tends to reduce caloric expenditure, while people don't tend to reduce the amount they eat, so yes, playing video games can make you fat.
      • It's caloric intake exceeding caloric expenditure that makes people fat. Playing video games tends to reduce caloric expenditure, while people don't tend to reduce the amount they eat, so yes, playing video games can make you fat.

        No, playing video games can't make you fat. Failing to expend calories in equilibreum with your coloric intake makes you fat. As you noted. Yes, playing video games can reduce your caloric expenditure, but so can reading a book, etc. Playing video games doesn't make you fat, fail
    • No, carbs do! Well, not really, but you'd never know it these days.
  • By being a normal weight and not being mean? I'd better be carefull or I'll get labelled as a terrorist!

  • Welcome! (Score:4, Funny)

    by AtariAmarok (451306) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:19PM (#8445526)
    I, for one, welcome our surly obese juvenile overlords with their excellent hand-eye coordination. I will only look on with admiration as they mature into an entire generation of Baron Harkonnen's.

    And if they need someone to direct them to sources of slaves to toil in their lardmines, they know where to look.
  • According to http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/ 20040301/hl_nm/leisure_games_dc_6

    Video Games Make Kids Fat, Violent, Swedish Experts Say

    Personally I like the headline better if it is Video Games Make Kids Fat, Violent Swedish Experts Say

    I leave it to the reader to decide how the sentence should be read but my personal vision is something like, "WTF YOU CALL THIS LUTEFISK!!??! GET IT RIGHT OR I'M GONNA BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU!"
  • Even if you think that games make you fat (and it can't possibly be worse than Television can it?) There's obviously games that do not, like Dance Dancd Revolution [amazon.com].

    And violence makes you mean? Final Fantasy Tactics [rpgamer.com] is a game about a civil war which consists primarily of battling with swords, guns, knives, spears, axes, magic, and mathematics. That's obviously a game centered around violence (especially math; that stuff HURTS). However, the good guys strive for peace; mediating between the two forces and looking out for the little guy. If FFT really makes kids mean then you can colour me confused.

  • Fat and mean? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by El (94934) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:23PM (#8445561)
    In other words, video games really ARE the perfect training ground for the future pilots of the military's UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle) aircraft! Who cares how much the weigh as long as they're good with a joystick and enjoy fragging people! (Perhaps "Ender's Game" was more prophetic than we would like to think.)

  • It's a documentary, not research.. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by AltaMannen (568693) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:26PM (#8445583)
    "...which concluded that scientific findings of the effects, if any, of violent video games were scant."

    "But it has been proved beyond dispute that people who watch a lot of violence on television develop aggressive behavior," said Frank Lindblad

    For some reason Swedish television companies (the violent swedish experts in the article) loves to make documentaries and take things out of proportion, and then make another program where celebrities (but not usually experts who, if present, don't get to say much) debate the program.

    It is as if Rush Limbaugh made a documentary and then used his own documentary as proof in another program.

  • Man that is funny (Score:5, Funny)

    by MrBigInThePants (624986) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:30PM (#8445608)
    "'They are in poor physical shape, they eat unhealthily, grow fat and suffer insomnia,' she said. "

    Yeah, they have to wait until they are 24 and working 12+ hours a day in a desk job. Then it is perfectly OK for this behaviour! It will have the added benefit of them NOT enjoying the activity also.

    But they will still:
    * Feel like killing people every 5 min
    * Get no sun or physical activity
    * Eat pizza and soft drinks
    * Have no life

    Unfortunately they will be able to blow off steam because your can't frag your opponent (read: boss) using an excel spreadsheet. (only older versions have the 3d doom game)
  • I hate how they (the media, reporters, maybe even the swiss!) do this... They don't bother to point out that the rating on GTA:3 or GTA:VC is M. It's like saying "Letting kids watch "R" movies makes them less attentive to violence. No shit? The rating system is DESIGNED so that Children can't buy this game. Most major gaming retailers won't sell the titles to people under 18 (in the perfect world atleast). These games are meant for Adults, and evidentally the media no longer cares how it rates itself.

  • I see... (Score:3, Funny)

    by revmoo (652952) <slashdot@meeAUDENp.ws minus poet> on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:35PM (#8445649) Homepage Journal
    "Reuters is reporting that a Swedish group finds 'Video games can make children fat and, in the case of violent games popular among teenage and younger boys, aggressive and even criminal.' These articles make me want to hurt someone.

    I see... br />

    *backs slowly away*

  • This just in: people are affected by stuff (Score:5, Insightful)

    by lightspawn (155347) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:36PM (#8445661) Homepage
    and with all the amount of stuff, and all the people, you can find anecdotal evidence to support most any theory. It's a good thing these people are, you know, experts, or I'd be inclined to distrust their opinions.

    The article itself states that the documentary "was followed by a panel debate, which concluded that scientific findings of the effects, if any, of violent video games were scant."

    So it's just some "experts" seeding panic for personal fame and fortune.

    While we're all here, I would like to use this opportunity to link to a little snippet from ebay [lightspawn.org] on my own site, which proves beyond any doubt that games are, indeed, corrupting today's youth.

  • Riiight.... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by HeLLLight (748979) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:37PM (#8445672) Homepage
    Some how I don't think this study is very well done (from the article). No where did they say who was specifically targeted, any reference to a controled situation, how many people where observed, how they where observed and the period of time. "Experts". Riiight. I think the generilization of this report is quite harmfull. Im a gamer. Im not fat or have abnormal violent tendicies. But having the label "Video Games Make Kids Fat, Violent" is quite misleading. My question to the "Experts" would be "Was the an actual expeperiment followed by a report? Or is this your opioin based on no actual research?" Come on guys. Get off our backs.

  • A big ol' grain of salt (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MMaestro (585010) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:46PM (#8445749)
    You know, I'd take the report more seriously if I knew the name of the Swedish group. Out of the entire news report, there was only one Swede quoted and/or even referred to.

    "But it has been proved beyond dispute that people who watch a lot of violence on television develop aggressive behavior," said Frank Lindblad, a child psychiatrist at Sweden's Karolinska Institute university hospital.

    So is he or is he not part of the group? He could've just been an guest speaker or a commentor on the topic.

  • Well, not precisely. In my case, videogames have made me fat and very nice, happy and downright jovial. In the case of my S.O., who usually plays a lot more video games than me, she is skinny and mean.

    There's one for the statiticians!

  • That's OK (Score:3, Funny)

    by minusthink (218231) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:56PM (#8445831)
    "Video Games Make People Fat and Mean"

    That's OK, because studies like this make you stupid.

  • I think... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 02 2004, @06:04PM (#8445927)
    that's it's better for society as a whole if I beat people to death and shoot random people in a videogame instead of in reality.
  • Ok....

    Plays computer games? Check.
    Fat? According to the insurance industry... check.
    Mean? Not according to what I've been told.

    That's me.

    Plays computer games? Check.
    Fat? No check.
    Mean? No check.

    That's my best friend.

    Plays computer games? No check.
    Fat? No check.
    Mean? Check.

    That's [pick one: Timothy McVeigh, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Ashcroft, Andrea Yates, Ted Bundy, all of the above].

    It's rather obvious that the "researchers" and the author are taking correlation for causation at the least; more likely, they've dredged up the findings they want and have published them as scientifically accurate.

    Meanwhile, the studies which have said that video games can actually be beneficial are buried.

    ~UP

  • pissed off gamer (Score:5, Funny)

    by ssand (702570) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @06:35PM (#8446255)
    Yeah I sure get pissed off after playing tetris. I look in the mirror and think "holy shit! look at how much weight i gained since I started playing today" then I go raging around the neighborhood throwing bricks, trying to pile them into nice stacks.

  • Stating the obvious (Score:3, Interesting)

    by chia_monkey (593501) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @06:39PM (#8446294) Journal
    What? Sitting on your ass all day can make someone fat? Who would have guessed? They might as well say "watching too much TV makes you fat" or even better, "reading books all day makes you fat". You need exercise to stay trim and healthy.

    As far as violent...I agree and disagree. I'm a pretty mellow person and I've been known to toss the controller across the room when the game didn't make me too happy. Then again, I did the same thing to a model when I was trying to get the joystick in the cockpit.

    Anti-gamers will try to pin any and all social problems on games. You can fit any bad behavior into it. I'd rather be outside playing football and getting mad at someone on the opposite team any day. But these people really need to stop blaming EVERYTHING on games. Go outside. Play. But don't say the only reason kids may get fat or angry is because of a game.

  • Comparisons (Score:3, Interesting)

    by AstrumPreliator (708436) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @06:46PM (#8446382)
    Why aren't there any reports stating that football/soccer/[insert sport here] gives players violent tendencies? Comparitively how many time have you seen a news bit on how a sports player was arrested for killing/raping/etc... and how many times a gamer did the same? Infact, how many times have you heard a news bit that anyone has committed a violent act? Are we to believe that life itself makes you violent?

  • Never heard this song before. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by August_zero (654282) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @06:50PM (#8446435)
    I will say the obvious here:

    Show me your data, I want to know the sample sizes, I want to know the methodology and I want to know what criteria you used to decide who was fat and mean. Using words like "Fat" and "mean" to describe the conclusions of what is supposed to be a scientifically valid study really undermines the creditability to begin with. There is a documentary that goes along with this research? Sounds like they already had their minds made up what the results should be before they even started the study.

    But then again, who cares right? In this day and age the truth isn't all that important, and scaring the moms of the world are what get the evening news ratings right?

    Last time I checked, it was still perfectly legal to be "fat and mean".

  • Only half true (Score:5, Funny)

    by nobodyman (90587) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @07:27PM (#8446814)

    Games like Dance Dance Revolution make you Lean and Mean!.
    • Last time I played MoCap boxing, I completely wore myself out!

      We need to see more games like this! This is what the arcade needs to turn into in order to stay relevant.

  • There's some kind of "drive" in Sweden now... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by eddy (18759) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @07:41PM (#8446957) Homepage Journal

    Where someone -- either TV4 or they're simply tools -- is trying to create the news that 'video games make children violent'. It's been going on for two days now and will culminate tomorrow with some sort of 'documentary', which I'm going to _assume_ was produced by that former US Army guy who always seems to pop up when there's talk about video games and violence.

    We have a word over here for this "moralpanik" ("Moral panic"). To pimp this documentary the TV4 news 'previewed' it for some [woman] politician or another known for her prowess at shouting "BUT THINK OF THE CHILDREN". Oh, well.

    Want to bet that this 'documentary' won't say a thing about violent games being an _outlet_ so you don't have to go hit someone IRL?

    Somewhat ironically, todays news also included "Football fans get together to fight", which is just that. Apparently two opposing teams set a time and a place and number (they want even teams), then the fight it out. No weapons allowed.

    Oddly enough, I haven't heard of any new studies being started to see if being a sportsfan leads to violence. Maybe we should restrict sports to people of age?

    All in all it stinks. They're manufacturing "news", and bad "news" at that. I'm going to watch this 'documentary' and if it's too one sided I'll report it to "Granskningsnamnden for radio & TV [www.grn.se]" which is an institution whose job it is to study news and the like to make sure it's fair and impartial and not too loop sided. A "conviction " by GNR will require the channel to make a public retration of sorts, so there's not a lot of tooth there, but it's something.

  • Useless Study. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by fltsimbuff (606866) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @08:36PM (#8447540) Homepage
    These arguments have been around for a very long time. It is just one of those things that will not go away.

    Do video games desensitize people? I'd have to say yes. But then desensitization is not the same thing as making someone more prone to violent tendencies. Many people join the armed forces, to pay their way through college or whatnot. Part of the training is meant to prepare you to kill. Everyone I know who has been through it come back more serious about life and death, but not more violent.

    Another thing they are missing here is that maybe it is just that a larger number of people who are lazy, or mean play these kinds of games. Think about it. If you are a lazy person, are you going to be more apt to play sports for entertainment, or play video games and watch TV? Myself, after sitting for awhile gaming, I sometimes feel restless and need to get up for awhile and do something else.

    Same with mean people... Are they more likely to play a game of Chess, or to play something where they get to take out their "meanness" on characters in a game?

    "Most people who are mean play violent games" and "most people who play violent games are mean" do NOT mean the same thing.

    I also feel like I should mention, that I knew who the mean ones in my high school were. How can you not? Now did they tend to be the ones playing violent games? Yes. Football. Most of them never touched PCs, and mostly played sports games on consoles if at all.

    Honestly, most of the people I know that play games like UT, ET, and Quake, like to get together and play socially, and tend to be some of the nicer, more cooperative and reliable people.

    Lastly. Parents: Letting your children play a game that you feel is harmful to them is tantamount to allowing them to play with your .45 in the closet. Don't try to force your views on every one else, after all, it is YOUR most important job to look out for your children.

    After all, it is not the "Village" that raises a child, it is the parents.

    • Re:UT2004 Demo (Score:4, Funny)

      by tyler_42 (710451) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:17PM (#8445512)
      Thats rather mean spirited, I bet your fat.

      • Re:UT2004 Demo (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Sevn (12012) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @05:22PM (#8445553) Homepage Journal
        It's all in good fun. My old nick was:

        DidYourWife

        The idea is, pissed off people have shitty aim.

        Other good choices:

        ChildMolester
        WifeBeater
        AOLuser

        And naw, I'm not a tub of lard. I just enjoy a good FPS game after a long day at work for two reasons:

        #1 If I win, I feel good.
        #2 If I lose, I get humbled. Everyone should lose once in a while. It's good for ya.
      • You bet Sevn's fat that his comment was mean-spirited? Did Sevn give you permission to bet his fat? And what does Sevn get if he wins the bet? Just to keep his own fat? Seems like a pretty lousy deal. Then again, if he *wins* then you get his fat and he loses some weight, which is probably a good thing for him and kind of disgusting for you. Unless he's the sort of computer guy who's all wiry, and skinny, in which case he needs all the fat he can get, most likely.

        Very strange, at any rate.

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