Poll: 20 Year old plays Xbox and dies...

[GamerPhate]

Yeah I know I got you with the tag line, but this is true. Evidently this guy got a blood clot from sitting in the same spot for X amount of hours straight playing Xbox (no pun intended). I don't know what the weight of the guy is, but I am betting he wasn't a budding crystal of fitness. But the kicker is that his family is trying to raise awareness of this issue, but I guess can't sue since there is a warning in many games to "take a break" every once in a while. Be afraid, this is going to change things, perhaps they push for a manditory feature in games that turn themselves off after 4 hours of gameplay or something. Here is the article for your digestion.

http://blog.games.yahoo.com/blog/866-xbox-addict-dies-from-blood-clot/

 

[Alexnader]

You need your OH&S breaks for a proper marathon session. Remember kids, hardcore gamers stand up and walk around the room every once in a while.

Also about 3 hours a day. More if friends are on.

 

[Danzaivar]

This guy was a lightweight. I walked away just fine (albeit tired as all hell) from a 26 hour WoW session once.

PFft!

 

[Thamous]

"Kids all over the country are playing these games for long periods - they don't realise it could kill them," he told The Sun.
Okay no, being irresponsible, lazy and not having your priorities in order can kill you. If your game playing habits are causing life threatening conditions its you're fault only.

 

[Akytalusia]

i'm still waitin' for this to happen to me, but it just never does. what's the deal yo?

 

[GamerPhate]

"Kids all over the country are playing these games for long periods - they don't realise it could kill them," he told The Sun.
Okay no, being irresponsible, lazy and not having your priorities in order can kill you. If your game playing habits are causing life threatening conditions its you're fault only.

I agree... I wonder if in back days of yore, if books were the same way. Some guy dies reading a book, and soon a book burning party is started. Although like I mentioned, I don't suppose this guy in question was the peak of phyisical fitness when this occured.

 

[TriggerHappyAngel]

I always pause my games after each hour or so and walk around for a bit, not because I have to, but it always feels good.

 

[Vakz]

About the poll; Are we talking how much time we spend sitting at the computer, or time actually gaming? I probably only game maybe.. 2½-3 hours, but I'm at the computer 8+ hours a day.

 

[PureChaos]

if i get to play at all i'm lucky. i can sometimes play for an hour or 2 during the weekends but during the week i usually don't get to play at all.

 

[GamerPhate]

i'm still waitin' for this to happen to me, but it just never does. what's the deal yo?

Takes more than a few hardcore sessions, would take years of hardcore sessions, and NEVER doing anything exercise wise. Hell, mowing your lawn once a week especially in the heat outside is enough to push most of your blood around. I am willing to be this guy never did anything else but game, ever. I imagine a pile of 3 liters and soda cans in a throne type fashion around his corpse.

 

[GamerPhate]

About the poll; Are we talking how much time we spend sitting at the computer, or time actually gaming? I probably only game maybe.. 2½-3 hours, but I'm at the computer 8+ hours a day.

Well, I guess I did put "gaming" in there. But lets rephrase it and say Video Entertainment, that way, surfing the net and form posting can qualifiy as entertainment from said video gaming device.

 

[OpticalJunction]

Wow, poor guy. 20 is too young to die. Sit stand/treadmill desks are a possible answer, a way of countering the apparently horrible effects of sitting on your ass all day. A set up like this could have saved his life:

 

[Lawnmooer]

Well... I'm on my computer/PS3 from the moment I wake up (5:04AM everyday) til I go to watch T.V. before bed to reduce adrenaline levels (10:00PM)

I think I'm still alive....

Though I do take 10-30 minute breaks to eat food (And watch the end of/all of an episode of Friends depending on what time I take a food break)

 

[Suijen]

Guild Wars had the right idea; every 2 or 4 hours, remind the player to take a break and stretch a little bit. If the guy had got up every time during the pause session, he'd probably be fine.

 

[likalaruku]

My grama is obese & plays PC games for up to 8 hours a day every day. It turns her feet into bloated sausages.

Boo, this was published by The Sun. They're a tabloid & the UK equivelent of Fox News.

 

[Richardplex]

On my days off, I do a mixture of gaming, reading, watching anime/reading manga, lurking here, and thinking, all of them having identical amount of movement: 0. But I also take breaks to run a couple of km's every day, so I feel it's justified. And to answer, I put 12, but it depends, 12 and 12+ are half-and-half.

 

[Staskala]

Ah, the never-ending benefits of being a chain-smoker that never smokes inside. Not only do I stand up every 1 or 2 hours, I even go to fresh air!

I think the massive health problems sitting on your ass 24/7 causes are indeed worth addressing. I've heard that hemorrhoids, bedsores and back problems are on the rise among today's youths.
It certainly wouldn't hurt to educate people on it, more drastic measures are going a bit too far though.

 

[OpticalJunction]

Is that your little contraption or just something you found on the internet?

Internet. Here's the source if you're curious: http://rura.org/blog/2007/11/14/the-treadmill-desk-exercise-for-the-sake-of-hacking/

 

[Weslebear]

I love being a fidgety person, I can game without moving position for 48 hours but I never really sit still so my legs don't even go numb.

Good times, also don't look at me like that. Terraria, Guild Wars and Oblivion are fucking addictive.