Εlectronic games, sedentary lifestyle and their association with weight gain in adolescents, during the pandemic covid-19

Introduction: To contain the spread of the SARS-COVID-19 pandemic, a worldwide lockdown was implemented, which led to a decrease in the employment activities of teenagers, and many resorted to electronic games. Sedentary lifestyle leads to an increase in the risk of developing obesity and, consequently, an increase in the risk of developing co-morbidities, such as diabetes mellitus. Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate sedentary behavior related to electronic games and internet use and its relationship to body weight gain in adolescents during the pandemic. Material-methods: The relevant international literature was searched, from 2020 to 2023, in the electronic databases: Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library. The keywords used were: Sedentary behavior, AND online gaming, OR internet gaming, OR computer gaming, OR gaming behavior, OR digital gaming, OR video gaming, online OR role-playing game, AND obese, OR overweight, OR weight gain, OR obesity, OR BMI, OR Body Mass Index, AND COVID-19, OR COVID 19 pandemic, OR coronavirus, AND adolescents. Results: During the pandemic, there was a significant increase in the time spent on screens by teenagers as well as a significant increase in their body weight. The majority of studies cite increased screen time as a key causative factor in adolescent weight gain, which has been observed in some cases to be a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: During the lockdown, a large percentage of teenagers resorted to electronic games. This had significant consequences, as it contributed to an increase in their body weight, increasing the prevalence of obesity in this population. Nevertheless, new research is required from the scientific community in the wake of the Pandemic, to clarify the possible return of teenagers to their pre-Pandemic habits.

Keywords: obesity, electronic games, screens, pandemic, COVID-19