[...] [Via GamePolitics — Thanks, Justin]  [...]

So if both overexercise and underexercise lead to problems, what kind of daily regiment do they propose? Do they give ANY recommendations on how much exercise you should go through each day? Or are they just holding the conference to assign blame to as many things as they can?

Then again, this is New Zealand, so I shouldn't honestly be suprised.

Well shoot, THIS explains everything.

And here I thought my back pain was due to spondylolisthesis they found after landing on a tree root from seven feet up.

*Cough* Anyway. Video games are hardly "the cause" of this, bad posture is. If your posture is bad enough, you can ruin your back while reading, watching TV, hell, even doing homework.

I was born with Spina Bifida Occulta and thus have always had back pain, so don't blame teh evil games.

A well balanced exercise program is as important to good health as a well balanced diet.

We also know that "diets" vary in their effects from person to person. What is good for one person may be hazardous to another.

Parents in-the-know do know that the best place to start investigating good health for their kids (as well as themselves) is with their family physician and a good physical exam to set a baseline for present health.

From there, it does tend to be trial and error to determine what is "reasonable" for each individual. Not to mention that change in habits, both nutritional and exercise -wise, are not easy to make. Sometimes, a massive change is needed, but whether that individual's physiology can accept a drastic change all at once may need to be taken into consideration as well. Slow, steady change may also be difficult. Sometimes even patience is stressed.

It always comes down to the complexity of the indivdiual, which many studies outright ignore in favor of sensationalism or shock value.

I treat this sort of thing the same way I do with relationships (family, social, etc):
Don't worry about the rest of Humanity. Worry about what does or does not work for you and your children if you have them. While everyone else is trying everything under the sun simply because the news or a study of the moment says "this works" or "this doesn't", people who are focusing on themselves and their own family are either having better success or quickly narrowing down what is specifically best for them or their family.

Nightwng2000
NW2K Software

I would imagine that video games would aggravate problems due to bad posture.

My own experience with back pain has been more generic in regards to size of monitor/TV, size of fonts, size in general requiring me, a legally blind player/computer user, to sit forward. True that in the case of a computer, I can reduce resolution size, but that does present problems with overall image size and therefore makes reading a large area a burden.

But more than anything, it's a case of "gamer's thumb" that I suffer from every once and awhile. More so with the limited controllers (such as the Atari joystick). But newer controllers and more expanded playability reduce that. Still, from time to time, a rather hectic action packed game can lead to a jittery thumb or even a painful hard spot on the thumb that lasts for a few days.

But back pain, while it occurs from time to time, is still rare for me.

Nightwng2000
NW2K Software

I think its interesting that kids spend so much more time in static, unmoving, sitting postures in schools than most of them do playing video games. To be fair, I had more back pain in HS/College from sitting in the wooden torture devices loving dubbed "desks" than I ever have from playing video games ...

@ Serrenity

That is a VERY good point. The chairs at my middle/highschool were made out of this stuff I can only describe as synthetic sheetrock, and hurt like hell to sit on for any length of time (and I actually have some padding, I can't imagine how my twig-like brother dealt with it).

Oh of course, its the video games, it couldn't be the six hours at school in classrooms or sitting at home watching television, it has to be the videogames. What a load.

well Wii Sports is sporty. but I'm not that hooked on some simple buggy simulation sport software package. I get more neck aches playing the demo games at Wal-mart when looking up at the screen[recommend Target instead].

Video games? Really? I could've sworn it had something to do with being forced to carry 4 text books weighing 7-10 pounds each to school every day in Elementary and Middle school. And I mean forced. If you didn't bring it, Detention.

Yeah, a a kid i never really had much back pains dispite my use of games.

Its not until i get into highschool and hand to start carring my books that i started to get sore.

I could easily beat someone to death with the brick called the history book. And 90% of the time we never even used the books, we just had to carry them around.

I remember in highschool my backpack became ripped and torn that i litterly used ducktape, staples and what ever else i could muster in school/home to hold it together.

Now that im older and working, i have tons of back pain. and im doing the most exersise i've ever done in my life as well, as well as sitting on my ass all day.

It is somewhat comical that the primary issue here is obesity, yet people go after video games instead of junk food. Bizzaro world!?!?

@ xzero87

quote
That is a VERY good point. The chairs at my middle/highschool were made out of this stuff I can only describe as synthetic sheetrock, and hurt like hell to sit on for any length of time (and I actually have some padding, I can’t imagine how my twig-like brother dealt with it).
endquote

For us twigs (see the part of my name that says "sticman"?), sitting in those little torture chambers is presumably about as pleasant as the following thought experiment:

Imagine you are lying belly-down. Now somebody puts a small end table made of lead on your butt (thus all of the weight focuses on the points where the legs touch your buttocks). Then, this horrible individual places an anvil on top of the lead end table.

Stay in this position for about 45 minutes to simulate class length, and allow for some fidgeting on your part so that the legs of the table may sufficiently reposition your internals.

Oh, and I almost forgot. Put a wooden plank on your back and have the evil man stand on it for that time span. And imagine you can feel it on your spine. Skinny people have visible spines when we slouch, which you know is happening in a classroom setting.

In other news, living is a precursor of death! Honestly, it's getting tiresome to hear that anything you do can be bad for you. Of course it can! That's why moderation is your best friend - even moderation itself.

meh I have always had back postures I need a back brace that helps postures but tis 80$ >

Its the year 2007 and i swear i have had the same desk since 1996 and i have moved from school to school state to state. The school desk top is made of a laminated press board which has been written on and more than likely puked on, the chair is of a plastic which is either slopped down towards the floor causing you to scoote back in every 5 mintues or is cracked and fixed with ducktape.................Got Tape? The supports for the desk are made of a tin type metal which are uneven and look as if rewelded on by some crazy janitor dude over the summer (Actually happens) and still bends out of shape......... But i have seen the light of a new chair. This chair i speak of is only two materials can you guess? METAL AND PLASTIC !!!! SAVE THE PRESS BOARD!!!! The new chairs have no back support but a giant round shaped hole. The desk top it self seems as if for a 6th grader causing me and my fellow class mates to hunch over to write and read.... AND THE WORST OF ALL... they took out the cool book storage thing under the chair which i proudly used as a foot rest :)....


Old Desks http://www.schooloutfitters.com/catalog/product_info/cPath/CAT202_CAT208...
New Desks
http://www.schooloutfitters.com/catalog/product_info/pfam_id/PFAM2708/pr...

Now you tell me which chair i rather have!!!!!!!! Cheap Schools

The most common problem for gamers is their poor posture in front of the console. And of course they keep it for hours in a row. It would help to get up often and walk around a bit. Even do some stretching exercises.

There is no doubt that overweight hurts your back. Especially in the long run. Again a regular switch between pfysical activity and video games is recommended.