Effect of video game playing and a glucose preload on subjective appetite, subjective emotions, and food intake in overweight and obese boys

Biochemical Changes in Adult Male Gamers During Prolonged Gaming: Pilot Study

BACKGROUND

Gaming has become an integrated part of life for children and adults worldwide. Previous studies on the impact of gaming on biochemical parameters have primarily addressed the acute effects of gaming. The literature is limited, and the study designs are very diverse. The parameters that have been investigated most thoroughly are blood glucose and cortisol.

OBJECTIVE

This exploratory study is the first to investigate the effects of long gaming sessions on the biochemical parameters of healthy male adults. The extensive testing allowed us to observe short-term changes (within 6 hours), long-term changes during the duration of the gaming sessions, and follow-up after 1 week to determine whether any changes were longer lasting.

METHODS

In total, 9 experienced gamers completed 2 back-to-back 18-hour gaming sessions interspersed with a 6-hour rest period. All participants adhered to a structured sleep pattern due to daytime employment or attending university. Blood, saliva, and urine samples were collected from the participants every 6 hours. Linear mixed-effect models were used to analyze the repeated-measures data accumulated during the study. A total of 51 biochemical parameters were investigated.

RESULTS

In total, 12 of the 51 biochemical parameters significantly changed during the study: alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, chloride, creatinine, glucose, hemoglobin, immature reticulocyte fraction, lactate, methemoglobin, sodium, and thrombocytes. All changes were within the normal range. The mean glucose level of the participants was 4.39 (SD 0.07) mmol/L at baseline, which increased significantly by 0.24 (SD 0.07) mmol/L per 6 hours during the first period and by 0.38 (SD 0.07) mmol/L per 6 hours in the second period (P<.001). The glucose levels during the second session increased even though the participants had little energy intake. Cortisol levels did not change significantly, although the cortisol pattern deviated from the typical circadian rhythm. During both gaming sessions, we observed increasing cortisol levels from 6 AM until noon. The participants were relatively dehydrated at the start of the study. The patients were asked to fast before the first blood sampling. Within the first 6 hours of the study, the participants rehydrated, followed by relative dehydration during the remainder of the study. This pattern was identified using the following parameters: albumin, creatinine, hemoglobin, erythrocytes, potassium, and platelets.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first of its kind, and many of the analyses in the study yielded novel results. The study was designed to emulate the behavior of gamers during the weekend and other long gaming sessions. At this point, we are not able to determine the difference between the effects of gaming and behavior during gaming. Regardless, the results of this study suggest that healthy gamers can partake in long gaming sessions, with ample amounts of unhealthy foods and little rest, without acute impacts on health.

Effectiveness of applied and casual games for young people's mental health: A systematic review of randomised controlled studies

Many youth experience mental health problems and digital games hold potential as mental health interventions. This systematic review provides an overview of randomised controlled studies assessing the effectiveness of digital applied and casual games for improving mental health in youth aged 6-24 years. A systematic search of PsycINFO, Web of Science and Pubmed yielded 145 eligible studies. Studies on (sub)clinical participant samples (n = 75) most often focused on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and anxiety. Applied games were found most effective for improving social skills, verbal memory and anxiety, whereas casual games were found most effective for improving depression, anxiety and ADHD. Studies involving healthy youth (n = 70) were grouped into papers examining anxiety in medical settings, momentary effects on positive and negative affect, and papers employing a longitudinal design measuring mental health trait outcomes. Promising results were found for the use of games as distraction tools in medical settings, and for applied and casual games for improving momentary affect. Overall, our findings demonstrate the potential of digital games for improving mental health. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed, such as developing evaluation guidelines, clearly defining applied games, harmonising outcome measures, including positive outcomes, and examining nonspecific factors that may influence symptom improvement as well.

The Physiological and Cardiologic Effects of Long Video Gaming Sessions in Adult Males

The effect of long gaming sessions on energy intake, caffeine intake, blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability, and biochemical cardiac injury markers is unknown. The objective of this exploratory study was to investigate the changes in healthy male adults during two consecutive 18-hour sedentary video gaming sessions. Nine participants were enrolled in the study. Energy intake was noted in food diaries. Heart rate variability was monitored continuously; blood pressure and cardiac injury markers were measured every three to six hours. During the 42-hour study, the participants had an energy and caffeine intake of 8004.9 kcal and 1354.4 mg, respectively. The participants had a significant decrease in energy intake in the second session (p=0.01). A strong, negative correlation was found between body mass index and total energy intake (R=–0.84, p=0.005) and waist circumference and total energy intake (R=–0.70, p=0.036) in the first session. No nightly dip in blood pressure or heart rate was observed. Based on this study, long-term adverse effects of gaming cannot be ruled out. The non-dip of HR and BP suggests that long gaming sessions could be detrimental to cardiovascular health long term.

Effects of Game Situation-Dependent Emotions on Sport Spectators' Food Craving

This study sought to challenge prevalent accounts of emotional eating by exploring the effects of situation-dependent emotions on consumers’ food craving. Four specific game situations in the context of spectator sports, each corresponding to the four types of emotional coping (outcome-desire conflict, avoidance, fulfillment, and pursuit), were identified as follows: decisive victories, decisive losses, close victories, and close losses. By employing laboratory-based virtual reality spectatorship, Study 1 tested the causal effects of happiness (fulfillment), anger (conflict), sadness (conflict), fear (avoidance), and hope (pursuit) on food craving. Study 2 further designed fans’ previous association between emotions and eating as a moderating mechanism in the context of online sport viewership. The results of the two experiments supported the three theoretical principles of eating behavior, including the “food as fuel” principle of anger, the hedonic eating principle of happiness, and the self-regulation principle of hope. However, the results rejected the escape awareness principle of sadness and fear. The study concludes with a discussion of context-dependent emotional positioning and intervention strategies for marketers and policy makers.

Could virtual reality applications pose real risks to children and adolescents? A systematic review of ethical issues and concerns

Virtual reality technologies (VRTs) are high-tech human-computer interfaces used to develop digital content and can be applied to multiple different areas, often offering innovative solutions to existing problems. A wide range of digital games is being also developed with VRTs and together with their components, the games' structural elements are appealing to children and engaging them more in virtual worlds. Our research interest is directed towards children's development and the effects of VRTs within gaming environments. Contemporary psychology studies perceive human development as a holistic and lifelong process with important interrelationships between physical, mental, social and emotional aspects. For the objectives and scope of this work, we examine children development across three domains: physical, cognitive and psychosocial. In this context, the authors review the literature on the impact of VRTs on children, in terms of software and hardware. Since research requires an wide-ranging approach, we study the evidence reported on the brain and neural structure, knowledge, behaviour, pedagogy, academic performance, and wellness. Our main concern is to outline the emerging ethical issues and worries of parents, educators, ophthalmologists, neurologists, psychologists, paediatricians and all relevant scientists, as well as the industry's views and actions. The systematic review was performed on the databases Scopus, IEEE Xplore, PubMed, and Google Scholar from 2010 to 2020 and 85 studies were selected. The review concluded that findings remain contradictory especially for the psychosocial domain. Official recommendations from organizations and well-documented researches by academics on child well-being are reassuring if health and safety specifications and particularly the time limit are met. Research is still ongoing, constantly updated and consist of a priority for the scientific community given that technology evolves.

The effect of dairy products and non-dairy snacks on food intake, subjective appetite and cortisol levels in children: a randomized control study

Dairy snacks are available in various physical forms and their consumption is linked to improved metabolic health. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dairy snacks of different physical forms on short-term food intake (FI), subjective appetite, and the stress hormone, cortisol, in children. Following a repeated-measures crossover design, 40 children aged 9-14 years randomly consumed 1 of 5 isoenergetic (180 kcal) snacks per study session. These snacks included solid (potato chips, cookies, and cheese), semi-solid (Greek yogurt), and fluid (2% fat milk) snacks. FI was measured 120 min after snack consumption. Subjective appetite was measured at 0 (immediately before the snack), 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min. Salivary cortisol (n = 18) was measured after the Greek yogurt and cookie snacks at 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min. FI did not differ between snacks (P = 0.15). The Greek yogurt (P < 0.0001) and cheese (P = 0.0009) snacks reduced average appetite compared with the 2% fat milk snack. Salivary cortisol levels were not affected by snack (P = 0.84). This study demonstrates that dairy snacks are as effective as other popular snacks at influencing subsequent FI. However, solid and semi-solid dairy snacks are more effective at repressing subjective appetite than a fluid dairy snack. Registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02484625). Novelty: Milk, Greek yogurt and cheese have a similar effect on short-term food intake in children as popular potato chips and cookie snacks. Solid, semi-solid and liquid snacks have a similar effect on short-term food intake in children.

Effect of Increasing the Dietary Protein Content of Breakfast on Subjective Appetite, Short-Term Food Intake and Diet-Induced Thermogenesis in Children

Dietary protein affects energy balance by decreasing food intake (FI) and increasing energy expenditure through diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) in adults. Our objective was to investigate the effects of increasing the dietary protein in an isocaloric breakfast on subjective appetite, FI, blood glucose, and DIT in 9-14 y children. Two randomized repeated measures designs were used. In experiment 1, 17 children (9 boys, 8 girls) consumed isocaloric meals (450 kcal) on four separate mornings containing: 7 g (control), 15 g (low protein, LP), 30 g (medium protein, MP) or 45 g (high protein, HP) of protein. Blood glucose and subjective appetite were measured at baseline and regular intervals for 4 h, and FI was measured at 4 h. In experiment 2, 9 children (6 boys, 3 girls) consumed the control or HP breakfast on two separate mornings, and both DIT and subjective appetite were determined over 5 h. In experiment 1, all dietary protein treatments suppressed subjective appetite compared to control (p < 0.001), and the HP breakfast suppressed FI compared with the LP breakfast and control (p < 0.05). In experiment 2, DIT was higher after HP than control (p < 0.05). In conclusion, increasing the dietary protein content of breakfast had favorable effects on satiety, FI, and DIT in children.

Pre-meal active video game playing increased subjective appetite but not food intake in children and adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Sedentary video game playing (VGP) and caloric preloads in the pre-meal environment have been shown to influence short-term food intake (FI) regulation in children. Other factors that may affect FI control include physical activity and/or heightened emotion. Therefore, we examined the effects of a glucose preload and 30 min of active VGP (aVGP) on subjective appetite, short-term FI, and subjective emotions in 9-14 year-old children.

METHODS

On four test mornings approximately one-week apart, twenty-seven children (sex: 15M, 12F; age: 11.3 ± 0.3 years; BMI percentile: 55.3 ± 6.1%) consumed a standardized breakfast two hours prior to consuming 250 mL of either a 50 g glucose preload or Sucralose® control. Following the preload, participants participated in 30 min of quiet sitting or aVGP. Energy expenditure was measured during aVGP via indirect calorimetry. FI from an ad libitum pizza meal was measured after each test condition. Subjective appetite and emotions were measured at baseline (0 min), during treatment (15min), and immediately before the test meal (30 min).

RESULTS

aVGP did not affect FI, but the glucose preload decreased FI compared with the sucralose control (∆ = 157 kcal, <0.001). Although not statistically significant (p=0.12), caloric compensation was lower following the glucose preload in the aVGP condition. Subjective appetite increased with time, and was higher in the sucralose control + aVGP condition (p=0.05). Change from baseline subjective emotion scores of anger and excitement were higher (p=0.03) and lower (p=0.02) after aVGP, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Neither short-term FI nor net energy balance were affected by low-intensity aVGP (energy expenditure of 34 kcal). These findings suggest that a short bout of low-intensity aVGP does not alter energy balance during the study measurement period, and may not support achieving or maintaining healthy weights in children. However, future longitudinal studies are needed to confirm such advice.

[Association of mobile phone overuse with sleep disorder and unhealthy eating behaviors in college students of a medical university in Guangzhou]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association of mobile phone use with sleep disorder and unhealthy eating behavior among college students of a medical university in Guangzhou.

METHODS

Mobile Phone Involvement Questionnaire (MPIQ), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire Revised 21 Item (TFEQ-R21) were used to survey 2122 undergraduates of the medical university. One-sample t test, One-way ANOVA and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Age, body mass index (BMI), phone use before sleep, phone use frequency, sleep quality (assessed by total PSQI score) and the dimension scores of TFEQ-R21 for uncontrolled eating, cognitive restraint, and emotional eating were all significantly correlated with the total score of MPIQ (P < 0.05). Phone use before sleep, high frequency of mobile phone use, poor sleep quality and emotional eating were associated with high MPIQ scores, while lower cognitive restraint and emotional eating tendency were correlated with lower scores of MPIQ. Bivariate analysis revealed that age (r=0.088, P < 0.001), BMI (r=0.055, P < 0.05), PSQI scores (r=0.204, P < 0.001), TFEQ-UE scores (r=0.199, P < 0.001), TFEQ-CR scores (r=-0.076, P < 0.001), TFEQ-EE scores (r=0.170, P < 0.001), phone use before sleep (r=0.429, P < 0.001), and phone use frequency (r=0.316, P < 0.001) were all significantly correlated with MPIQ scores; multiple linear regression analysis showed that model 4 incorporating the scores of TFEQ-UE, TFEQ-CR, and TFEQ-EE explained up to 21.8% of the main effect (adjusted R2= 21.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

Mobile phone overuse is associated with poor sleep quality and unhealthy eating behaviors, and education and interventions for mobile phone use is essential among college students.

Effects of White Potatoes Consumed With Eggs on Satiety, Food Intake, and Glycemic Response in Children and Adolescents

Objective: Short-term studies in adults have shown that white potatoes increase satiety and suppress food intake (FI) compared with several other carbohydrate-containing foods; however, studies are limited in children. The objective was to compare the effects of white potatoes in mixed meals on satiety, FI, and glycemic response in 9-14-year-old children and adolescents.Methods: Using a within-subject, repeated-measures design, 21 children completed five counter-balanced test sessions. After an overnight fast, children consumed one of four isocaloric treatment meals (450 kcal) of French fries, mashed potatoes, or white beans served with a fixed portion of egg omelet (30 g of protein), a control meal with cereal, milk, and bread, or continued to fast (i.e., meal skipping). Subjective appetite was measured using visual analogue scales. FI at an ad libitum pizza meal at 180 min and rest of day diet record were used to measure lunch FI and rest of day energy intake, respectively. Total daily energy intake was calculated by adding the energy intake from the treatment meal, the ad libitum pizza lunch, and rest of day food record. Capillary blood samples were collected to assess glycemic response over 180 min.Results: Change from baseline subjective average appetite scores were lower after mashed potatoes compared with all other treatment conditions (p < 0.001), and higher after French fries compared with white beans (p = 0.04). Lunch FI (kcal) was significantly lower (p < 0.001) after French fries (1010±73) and mashed potatoes (1039±74) compared with the control meal (1257±92) and meal skipping (1235±74). Total daily energy intake (kcal) was lower after French fries compared with the control meal (2228±141 vs. 2624±137; p = 0.04). Change from baseline blood glucose was lower after white beans and French fries compared with mashed potatoes (p < 0.05) and the control meal (p < 0.001).Conclusion: In conclusion, white potatoes with eggs increased satiety, decreased short-term FI, and resulted in similar energy intakes compared with meal skipping.