Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Short Communication
  • Published:

Acute effects of violent video-game playing on blood pressure and appetite perception in normal-weight young men: a randomized controlled trial

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 67, pages 1322–1324 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Watching television and playing video game being seated represent sedentary behaviours and increase the risk of weight gain and hypertension. We investigated the acute effects of violent and non-violent video-game playing on blood pressure (BP), appetite perception and food preferences. Forty-eight young, normal-weight men (age: 23.1±1.9 years; body mass index: 22.5±1.9 kg/m2) participated in a three-arm, randomized trial. Subjects played a violent video game, a competitive, non-violent video game or watched TV for 1 h. Measurements of BP, stress and appetite perception were recorded before a standardized meal (∼300 kcal) and then repeated every 15 min throughout the intervention. Violent video-game playing was associated with a significant increase in diastolic BP (Δ±s.d.=+7.5±5.8 mm Hg; P=0.04) compared with the other two groups. Subjects playing violent video games felt less full (P=0.02) and reported a tendency towards sweet food consumption. Video games involving violence appear to be associated with significant effects on BP and appetite perceptions compared with non-violent gaming or watching TV.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Chaput JP, Klingenberg L, Astrup A, Sjodin AM . Modern sedentary activities promote overconsumption of food in our current obesogenic environment. Obes Rev 2011; 12: e12–e20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Goldfield GS, Kenny GP, Hadjiyannakis S, Phillips P, Alberga AS, Saunders TJ et al. Video game playing is independently associated with blood pressure and lipids in overweight and obese adolescents. PLoS One 2011; 6: e26643.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Anderson CA, Shibuya A, Ihori N, Swing EL, Bushman BJ, Sakamoto A et al. Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in eastern and western countries: a meta-analytic review. Psychol Bull 2010; 136: 151–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ballard ME, Wiest J R . Mortal kombat: the effect of violent videogame play on males’ hostility and cardiovascular responding. J Appl Social Psychol 1996; 26: 717–730.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Siervo M, Wells JC, Cizza G . The contribution of psychosocial stress to the obesity epidemic: an evolutionary approach. Hormone Metabol Res 2009; 41: 261–270.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Monk TH . A Visual Analogue Scale technique to measure global vigor and affect. Psychiatry Res 1989; 27: 89–99.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Rogers PJ, Blundell JE . Effect of anorexic drugs on food intake and the micro-structure of eating in human subjects. Psychopharmacology 1979; 66: 159–165.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Brunstrom JM, Mitchell GL . Effects of distraction on the development of satiety. Br J Nutr 2006; 96: 761–769.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Oldham-Cooper RE, Hardman CA, Nicoll CE, Rogers PJ, Brunstrom JM . Playing a computer game during lunch affects fullness, memory for lunch, and later snack intake. Am J Clin Nutr 2011; 93: 308–313.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Hall RCW, Day T, Hall RCW . A plea for caution: violent video games, the Supreme court, and the role of science. Mayo Clinic Proc 2011; 86: 315–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Core budget, Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Institute of Child Health.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Nutrition Research Centre, Institute for Ageing and Health, Newcastle University, Newcastle on Tyne, UK

    M Siervo

  2. Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK

    S Sabatini, M S Fewtrell & J C K Wells

Authors
  1. M Siervo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S Sabatini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M S Fewtrell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J C K Wells
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M Siervo.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Guarantor: MS is the guarantor for the manuscript and had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.Contributors: MS, MSF, JCKW: study concept and design; SS, acquisition of data; MS, JCKW: analysis and interpretation of data; MS: drafting of the manuscript; MS, SS, MSF, JCKW: critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; MS: statistical analysis; JCKW: obtained funding; SS: administrative, technical and material support; MS, JCKW: study supervision.The material presented in this manuscript is original and it has not been submitted for publication elsewhere while under consideration for European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Supplementary Information accompanies this paper on European Journal of Clinical Nutrition website

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Siervo, M., Sabatini, S., Fewtrell, M. et al. Acute effects of violent video-game playing on blood pressure and appetite perception in normal-weight young men: a randomized controlled trial. Eur J Clin Nutr 67, 1322–1324 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.180

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.180

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links