Video games can be good for kids

Don't feel guilty for stuffing Sonic in the Santa sack - video games can be good for your children's mental health.

In fact, according to the director of QUT's Games Research and Interaction Design Lab, Dr Daniel Johnson, playing video games as a family can help you build stronger relationships with your children.

Dr Johnson and his gaming research group at the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) combed through 200 papers and reports from around the world to find out when and how video games can have a positive effect on the wellbeing of young players.

They discovered that the types of video games a young person plays is less important for their wellbeing than how they play videogames - and who they play them with.

Their research challenges the belief that video games breed socially isolated, aggressive and lazy teenagers.

"Our research showed that playing video games can improve a young person's mood, help them reduce their stress levels, and promote feelings of competence and autonomy," said Dr Johnson, from QUT's Science and Engineering Faculty.

"Playing video games with others in particular increases a person's brain activity, improves their social wellbeing and helps them feel more connected with others.

"If you're trying to reach out to the teenager in your house, spending time with them playing a cooperative video game you both enjoy could be the bridge you're looking for - and you'll likely feel the same positive impacts on your wellbeing, too."

Dr Johnson cautioned that excessive or obsessive video game play and technology use was not good for mental health as this could lead to negative outcomes such as anxiety and insomnia.

But overall, his team's research found:

- moderate (non-excessive) levels of playing are associated with positive emotions and improved mood, improved emotion regulation and emotional stability and the reduction of emotional disturbances

- playing video games can be a healthy means of relaxation, stress reduction and socialising

- people who play video games in moderation have been shown to have significantly less depressed mood and higher self-esteem compared to those who don't play or who play excessively.

More than 95 per cent of Australian homes with children aged under 18 have one or more devices for playing video games.

"One of the most important things you can do as a parent is to ensure you and your child engage thoughtfully with what you are playing," Dr Johnson said.

"Look for games that encourage creativity and cooperation and that are age appropriate."

Dr Johnson will present the results of a range of studies conducted by the QUT Games Research Lab as well as the Young and Well CRC's findings at a Videogames and Wellbeing lecture at the University of Sydney on Tuesday 19 November.

His presentation will also explore: the genres, modes of play and experiences during play that influence wellbeing; the predictors of obsessive and harmonious passion for play; and the differences in brain activity associated with playing with humans versus Artificial intelligence (AI) controlled teammates.

"People talk a lot about technologies being good or bad for us - phones, social media, video games - but it's never that simplistic," said Associate Professor Rafael Calvo from the University of Sydney's School of Electrical and Information Engineering and host of the talk.

"Technologies impact our wellbeing in positive and negative ways, depending in part on how they're designed.

"The fact is, we need to start measuring and understanding this impact better so we can design future technology that actively promotes wellbeing and human potential."

Dr Johnson said his team's future research will in part focus on what constitutes a healthy or moderate amount of play for people at different ages and how best to leverage the wellbeing benefits of video games in a therapeutic setting.

Study finds electronic cigarettes can cause health problems too

Researchers from the University of California, Riverside, have some bad news for smokers looking to put a halt to the filthy habit by using electronic quitting aids. After examining various aspects of a handful of commercially-available electronic nicotine delivery systems, the team concluded that so-called e-cigarettes are unsafe and pose a health risk. They are now calling for such devices to be withdrawn from sale pending a rigid safety evaluation.

Electronic cigarettes give users a dose of nicotine without burning tobacco. They're made up of a battery, an atomizer, and a cartridge containing nicotine and propylene glycol. When someone takes a draw, a sensor activates the battery which changes the tip of the device red to simulate smoking and also heats the atomizer. This vaporizes the chemicals and the e-cigarette then delivers a dose of nicotine into the user's lungs.

Such devices are readily available in shopping malls throughout the U.S. but there's been "virtually no scientific studies on e-cigarettes and their safety," according to Prue Talbot, professor of cell biology and neuroscience. The research team from University of California, Riverside decided to find out exactly how safe so-called e-cigarettes are and purchased products from five companies.

They examined the design, accuracy and clarity of labeling, nicotine content, whether the devices or cartridges leaked and looked for defective parts. How the devices and components were disposed of at the end of their useful lives, whether any errors were made in filling orders, and the quality of the instruction manual and what claims were made while advertising, were also scrutinized.

The team found numerous issues including lack of essential warnings, poor or confusing usage instructions and a lack of information about what exactly is contained in the e-cigarettes. Kamlesh Asotra of the University of California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program - which part-funded the study - confirmed that "virtually nothing is known about the toxicity of the vapors generated by these e-cigarettes."

They discovered various documents which made claims that could not be scientifically substantiated and, although the researchers found specific design differences between the brands, most of the cartridges were found to leak, which could lead to exposure to a dangerous and addictive chemical. Manufacture was unregulated and environmentally-sensitive disposal methods lacking.

The study concluded with the researchers stating that e-cigarettes pose a health risk to users and are urging regulators to consider their removal from the market pending a rigid safety evaluation.

The results from the study have now been published online at Tobacco Control.

Chocolate lovers rejoice: More chocolate means less body fat

In what may be the best news for chocoholics since scientists at the University of Cambridge found that higher chocolate consumption was associated with a significant reduction in cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke, researchers at the University of Granada are reporting that it's also associated with lower levels of total fat deposits – in the bodies of adolescents at least.

The researchers from the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences at the University of Granada conducted a study comprising 1,458 European adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years old and found that not only did higher chocolate consumption not lead to an increase in fat deposits in the participants, but it was actually associated with lower levels of total fat – fat deposits all over the body and central-abdominal fat – regardless of physical activity and diet.

The study estimated total fat deposits through body mass index, waist circumference and body fat percentage, which was measured by skinfolds and bioelectrical impedance analysis. Lower levels of total and central fat deposits were witnessed in participants with higher chocolate intake, regardless of age, sex, sexual maturation, total energy intake, physical activity and intake of saturated fats, fruits, vegetables, tea and coffee.

The researchers suggest the results could be partly due to catechins, a type of flavonoid that chocolate is especially rich in that boasts multiple health benefits and influences cortisol production and insulin sensitivity in the body. “They have important antioxidant, antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory and antihypertensive effects and can help prevent ischemic heart disease," explains Magdalena Cuenca-García who was the principle author of the study.

“The most recent epidemiologic research focuses on studying the relation between specific foods – both for their calorie content and for their components – and the risk factors for developing chronic illnesses, including overweight and obesity,” the researchers say in their study.

But before you go out and gorge yourself on chocolate bars, the researchers warn that, as with most things, chocolate should be consumed in moderation.

“In moderate quantities, chocolate can be good for you, as our study has shown. But, undoubtedly, excessive consumption is prejudicial. As they say: you can have too much of a good thing."

The team's study is published in the journal Nutrition.

Source: University of Granada