No continues in real life

There's been much discussion on this topic for the last week, so I figured it was about time for me to throw in my two cents. The subject in question is the "Change4Life" advertising campaign that the UK Government's Department of Health recently unveiled. For those unaware, this is a series of ads targeting parents of child gamers, the most recent of which has appeared in a number of reputable print magazines. It depicts a boy, lazily sitting on the ground with a Playstation controller in his hand. The caption states, "Risk and early death, just do nothing," with the word "Death" written in black.

The British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK, and Cancer Research have all agreed to back up the claim that video games can lead to obesity in later life. I suppose it's hard to argue that sitting down for hours at a time is good for you, but is it right to single out gaming as the main cause of these problems? After all, there are plenty of other activities that don't involve much movement, such as movies, music, television, books, and board games, but none of these are mentioned in the ad.

It's also important to remember that there has been a vast increase in the number of "active" games over the last few years. First of all, there's the Wii, which has been getting gamers off of their couches for a while now. Okay, so many of the games don't involve more than a simple arm flail, but the success of titles such as Wii Fit should indicate that it's possible to game and get healthy at the same time.

Then there's the popularity of rhythm games, such as Guitar Hero, and Rock Band. Although the guitar parts can be played while sitting down, the vast majority of folks are likely to embrace their inner rock star, and at the very least, stand up. As far as drumming goes, this is tiring no matter how you choose to sit, and studies have shown that even virtual percussion can, in fact, be good for you. We also mustn't forget about games such as Dance Dance Revolution, which is more of a workout than many exercise regimens, and has been released on just about every system possible over the years.

Of course, the biggest opponents to the Change4Life campaign have been the game companies themselves. Sega, Atari, and TIGA have all issued statements denouncing the ads; citing many of the above reasons in their arguments. The UK Government then issued their own statement, in which they said "We are not saying that children shouldn't play computer games or eat treats, but parents and children need to be aware of the benefits of a balanced diet and an active lifestyle. The activities portrayed are examples of poor diet and lack of physical activity."

This statement seems fair, but there are so many factors involved besides video games. We should really look at the internet lifestyle so many have adopted over the last decade. People can do so many things these days without ever leaving their desk, such as working, shopping, communication, and even higher learning. All of these things, coupled with an increase in transportation costs have encouraged many to lead much more sedentary lives than in previous generations, and it's kind of hypocritical to tell a kid to go outside and play, while hunched over a desk sending emails.

So what this really comes down to is, video games have, once again, been singled out as the cause of problems, without looking at the bigger picture. I suppose that they're still a relatively new form of entertainment and, as such, are misunderstood by many older folks (which is pretty much all the government is composed of). I think it's good that health organizations are trying to teach people how to lead more active lives, but this will only be achieved when every factor is taken into account, not just the ones that will get you the most headlines.