WHO claims obesity in kids can partially be blamed on gaming

The World Health Organization has claimed in a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics that videogames are one of the main causes of childhood obesity in the world.

According to the report, one-third of children on the planet are obese due to a sedentary lifestyle.

Using math, the WHO claims that 70,000 teenagers from 34 different nations are hefties, due to watching TV or playing games three hours or more per day.

Statistically, the research concluded that this was the underlying reason for obesity for each country studied, and across all income brackets.

Here's a blurb, with the full thing available for purchase here:

The analysis included 72,845 schoolchildren from 34 countries that participated in the Global School-based Student Health Survey and conducted data collection between 2003 and 2007. The questionnaire included questions on overall physical activity, walking, or biking to school, and on time spent sitting.

Very few students engaged in sufficient physical activity. Across all countries, 23.8 percent of boys and 15.4 percent of girls met recommendations, with the lowest prevalence in Philippines and Zambia (both 8.8 percent) and the highest in India (37.5 percent). The prevalence of walking or riding a bicycle to school ranged from 18.6 percent in United Arab Emirates to 84.8 percent in China.

In more than half of the countries, more than one third of the students spent three or more hours per day on sedentary activities, excluding the hours spent sitting at school and doing homework.

The great majority of students did not meet physical activity recommendations. Additionally, levels of sedentary were high. These findings require immediate action, and efforts should be made worldwide to increase levels of physical activity among schoolchildren.

Because of this study, the WHO gets our coveted No S**t Sherlock Award of the week - well, if we handed that sort of thing out.

Thanks, GoNintendo and Reuters.