A national study of Australian undergraduates suggests that spending more than 10 hours a week gaming is associated with poorer diet quality, higher body weight, and disrupted sleep, highlighting the need for healthier gaming habits rather than less gaming altogether.
Study: Video gaming linked to unhealthy diet, poor sleep quality and lower physical activity levels in Australian University students. Image Credit: chomplearn / Shutterstock
In a recent study published in the journal Nutrition, researchers conducted a cross-sectional study to examine associations between video gaming and health-related behaviors among university students (n = 317) in Australia. Study findings revealed that students who game >10 hours per week demonstrated poorer diet quality, higher Body Mass Index (BMI), and worse sleep than their peers.
These findings suggest that high-frequency (high-intensity) gaming may displace health-promoting behaviors, highlighting a potential need for targeted public health interventions designed specifically for the university gaming community.
Video Gaming Prevalence and the Displacement Hypothesis
Video gaming is a ubiquitous pastime, particularly amongst students, yet its physiological and behavioral correlates in young adults remain understudied. In parallel, studies suggest that the university years represent a critical developmental window during which young adults establish lifelong lifestyle habits.
In Australia, 92% of households reportedly play video games. While gaming offers established cognitive benefits and stress relief (e.g., catharsis), the relatively novel "displacement hypothesis" suggests that time spent gaming may crowd out health-promoting activities (e.g., cooking, sleeping, and exercising).
Previous research has suggested that high-frequency gaming is linked to suboptimal health behaviors, such as mindless eating, sedentary behavior, and disrupted circadian rhythms, due in part to exposure to blue light. However, the specific interplay between gaming frequency and diet quality remains complex and not fully established.
Study Objectives and Participant Characteristics
The present study aimed to address this knowledge gap by conducting a cross-sectional observational study to explore relationships between gaming frequency and multiple health indicators. The study involved 317 Australian undergraduate participants (median age = 20.0 years) recruited through social media platforms and university systems.
The study required enrolled participants to complete a comprehensive online survey using validated tools to assess various health domains:
Gaming Habits: Students were categorized into three groups based on weekly, self-reported gaming hours: Low (0–5 hours), Moderate (6–10 hours), and High (>10 hours).
Diet Quality: The Diet Quality Tool (DQT) was used to assess adherence to prescribed nutritional guidelines, scoring participants on their intake of key food groups, including vegetables, fruits, and high-fat snacks.
Physical Activity: The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) was used to calculate Metabolic Equivalent Task (MET) minutes per week to gauge participants' exercise levels.
Sleep and Stress: The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess sleep disturbances, while the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) was employed to measure subjective stress.
Eating Behaviors: The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R18) was leveraged to evaluate cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating.
Statistical analyses comprised multiple linear regression models to isolate the independent associations between gaming and health outcomes. These models controlled for sociodemographic variables, including gender, ethnicity, and smoking status.
Associations Between Gaming Frequency and Health Outcomes
Study analyses revealed several contrasts between high-frequency gamers and their low-frequency gaming counterparts, the most significant being deterioration in nutritional habits among the former. High-frequency gamers (>10 hours/week) had significantly lower diet quality scores (median 45.0) compared to low-frequency gamers (median 50.0) (p < 0.001).
Regression analysis further quantified these observations, revealing that for every additional hour of gaming per week, diet quality scores dropped by 0.16 points (p = 0.02), after adjustment for multiple lifestyle and demographic factors, representing a modest but statistically significant association.
Anthropometric and sleep-related outcomes showed similar patterns:
BMI and Weight: High-frequency gamers were found to have a significantly higher median Body Mass Index (BMI) of 26.3 kg/m² compared to 22.2 kg/m² in the low-frequency group (p < 0.001). Notably, the prevalence of obesity was nearly five times higher in the high-frequency group (24%) compared to the low-frequency group (4.9%).
Sleep Quality: High-frequency gamers scored a median of 7.0 on the PSQI, compared to 6.0 for low-frequency gamers (p < 0.001). Notably, a PSQI score greater than 5 indicates poor sleep, suggesting that, while high-frequency gamers reported poorer sleep, the Australian student population as a whole struggles to maintain optimal sleep quality.
Physical Activity: The study identified a weak but statistically significant inverse correlation (r = -0.13, p = 0.03) between gaming frequency and physical activity. However, total physical activity levels did not differ significantly between gaming groups.
The study also found that high-frequency gamers were more likely to be male and prefer PC gaming. Surprisingly, this cohort reported consuming less alcohol than the low-frequency group (p = 0.02). Additionally, high-frequency gamers reported a preference for video games with higher violence ratings, a characteristic discussed in relation to existing literature on stress and arousal, rather than as a direct finding of elevated stress levels.
Interpretation, Limitations, and Public Health Implications
The present study elucidates important associations between frequent video gaming and several health-related behaviors among university students, providing evidence that higher gaming exposure is independently associated with poorer diet quality and higher BMI.
While the study is limited by its cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported data, its findings suggest that universities should consider integrating "healthy gaming" education into their wellness programs. As digital entertainment continues to dominate student life, balancing time spent gaming with positive health behaviors may represent a pragmatic public health goal rather than an indication of causality.
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