Nancy Gay, "Your Health and Fitness"
Video games can play a positive role in a child's life by helping them with eye/hand coordination. But they can be anything but child's play when it comes to fighting obesity.
News 13's medical reporter Nancy Gay says the Orange County Health Department has advice for parents who may think their children are spending a little too much time in front of the tube.
Many parents monitor how much TV their children watch and now may want to limit the time they spend playing video games.
"It is interactive and can help with color and light. It can help with these things, but it also seems some children get a little preoccupied with video gaming and certain types of video games me be more prone to others," said Kevin Sherin, of the Orange County Health Department.
Sherin said the "highly interactive" games are the ones you need to watch out for. He said some children may get so involved with the game they show some signs of addiction.
Parents should look for things such as a preoccupation with gaming, excluding basic things such as sleeping and eating and slipping grades.
"That's all we're saying, is pay attention to this as parents," Sherin said.
The Orange County Health Department said playing too many video games keeps kids indoors on the couch, when they need to be outside playing, especially now as the obesity epidemic grows.
That's not to say all games are create a sedentary lifestyle. Games such as the ones at the KidFit Arcade get children moving as they play.
"Anything that has physical activity associated with it, that's much more healthy than sitting in a fixed position, not doing anything with your arms and legs and getting your heart rate up," Sherin said.
The American Medical Association is calling for more research on the long-term beneficial and detrimental effects of video games,
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