There's a hidden danger to extreme gaming, and one family in the UK has set out to educate everyone on this silent threat. Their son died following a marathon session on his Xbox, and 'twas the game that killed him. Here's how you and your family can avoid the same fate.
20-year-old Chris Staniforth was killed by a pulmonary embolism. It's essentially a large, artery-blocking blood clot, and can most likely occur if someone sits in the same position for several hours.
Staniforth had no pre-existing medical conditions, but he did have a dangerous habit of playing Xbox for up to 12 hours at a time, "sucked in playing Halo online against people from all over the world," his father told AFP.
Protect Yourself
A story like this is certainly a cautionary tale, but not a caution against video games. The real danger wasn't the Xbox, it was the fact that Staniforth remained sedentary for long hours.
If you want to protect yourself or a gamer you love, encourage them to keep gaming sessions short (good for your body and your eyesight).
If you find yourself in the middle of an addicting multiple-hour gaming marathon, make sure to take several small breaks to get up and walk around the room. Even just a trip to the kitchen for a glass of water could save your life. If you need help stopping for breaks, try one of these recommended time management apps.
Google News via Gawker
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Did Tipper Gore write this?
And I don't see why this would be in this site in a technology section.
I wonder how often this happens to people at work? In planes?
As long as your sitting for hours on end at a job your are safe from this, but it is the mixture of fun and lethargy that is the root cause of embolisms.
Ha!
I very much disagree with the naysayers. I think Unplgged has recognized content in the news that is pertinent to its users and posted it for us. I also don't think the title is misleading at all. It is, in fact, a hidden danger of gaming. I have +1'ed, Tweeted, and Liked this for all my gaming friends. It's easy to think that sitting can't hurt you!
Maybe the alarmist are others.
This article speaks about the dangers of sedentarism plus videogames...
Every gamer has passed for this: A Hard level, new discoveries, hidden treasures and a large ETC.. some people cant resist this "challenges" and stays in front of TV for hours... this is bad if you cant control the "need" of beat that records.
Why this happen? The videogame is not the killer, the bad education is! If you can´t STOP playing and take you FAT body to the Sun.. you really have a problem and can be compared with alcoholism and any other addiction...
The VG is not the killer, is the addiction. And the addiction is a Psychological problem... whatever it is...
Wow, I can not believe you guys posted this.
Might as well warn about the dangers of working a normal white collar job for 12 hours, which plenty of Americans do.
It's the danger of *sitting,* not video games.
Alarmist bullshit is still alarmist bullshit, no matter how well intentioned.
No. What you mean is he had no KNOWN pre-existing medical condition. If this was such an everyday fatal risk, folks on planes, in office cubicles, on long bus rides, etc would all be succumbing to this.
This is sensationalistic alarmist crap.
Perhaps this should be retitled "The Hidden, Fatal Dangers of Sitting Still."
People sit on planes for much longer. I have. It's sitting in one position that's the problem, not video games.
Not everyone who takes those 14-hour flights gets up to exercise or move. Are there warnings from the attendants or on the cards? No.
...Wait, stickyricemama, but flight attendants and safety cards DO warn about pulmonary embolisms. They warn for deep-vein thrombosis, and DVT kills by... causing pulmonary embolisms. I have never been on a flight that hasn't warned for DVT, and I've lost track of the amount of times I've flown... (Only four of those were around fourteen hours, but if they warn about it on a two-hour flight, then...)
Clearly, the solution here is to buy a Wii. Yeah motion control!
As a professional game artist, I really get angry and sad every time I see yet another lame article like this.
Sitting still is what killed this kid, and it's a danger if you're sitting at your desk working for 12 hours, watching a harry potter marathon, or on a really long flight to tokyo.
If you're gonna sit for any length of time (like the 16 hour days game developers put in to make these "deadly and fatal" amusements), or if your spouse/kid has these problems, set a timer! Every 2 hours, get up, walk, and move.
Make yourself go get the laundry out of the dryer. Make tea. Water your plants. Do a single chore. Go. Pee.
You don't have to jog around the block, just don't be a log. And PLEASE stop blaming video games for the failures of education, parenting, or simply mental illness.
A lot of real people put their heart and soul into those games, and just because you don't "get it", just like I don't get your stock market job...doesn't mean that it's okay to demonize. ): It makes us sad. Sad game developers.