Children that play lots of video games are more likely to be fat teenagers, study finds

Parents letting their child play lots of video games are signing the youngster up for weight gain a decade later, a study has revealed. More than 16,000 children were tracked from age five through to age 14 and scientists assessed the relationship between video games and weight. Results revealed children who regularly played video games as a five-year-old had a higher BMI nine years later, compared to those who did not play video games. Drinking sugary drinks and irregular bedtimes also have a significant impact on children, the study found, and could partly be to blame for the weight change. The study, funded by Cancer Research UK, is the first to look at the potential effect of video game use on children's BMI over time.