
Brush after Counterstrike
New research shows that playing computer games is bad for
your teeth. (Among other things. sub.ed.)
New research, penned by Jordon Poss at the University of
Iowa and presented at the annual meeting of the American Association
for Dental
Research in Washington suggests snacking while playing computer and
video games
could be responsible for poor levels of oral health among young
teenagers. The report said that gamers who spend substantial amounts
of time at the screen are more than twice as likely to develop tooth
decay and
caries as those with more active lifestyles.
Apparently teens are more likely to snack on sugary foods
while absorbed in computer games. It is estimated half of teenagers in the UK have a video
console in their bedroom and 97 per cent of all teens play video games
regularly. The study is one of the first to suggest dietary habits
leading to decay are associated with screen activities and that computer games,
if associated with increased snacking are associated with decay experience.
Kids who had parental rules regarding screen time and
diet were less likely to eat or drink while watching television and playing
video games than subjects without parental rules. Participants without structured eating patterns were more
than a third more likely to have caries
than subjects with structured patterns.