Overview
- The peer-reviewed paper in Nutrition surveyed 317 students from five Australian universities with a median age of 20.
- Participants were grouped as low (0–5 hours), moderate (5–10 hours) and high gamers (>10 hours), with health measures diverging beyond the 10-hour mark.
- High gamers showed a median BMI of 26.3 kg/m² versus 22.2 and 22.8 for low and moderate groups, alongside notably poorer diet scores.
- Each additional weekly hour of gaming correlated with lower diet quality even after adjusting for stress, physical activity and other lifestyle factors.
- Researchers reported worse sleep among moderate and high players, especially with late-night sessions, and stress that findings show association rather than causation while advising breaks, earlier cutoffs and healthier snacks.