Social Issues and Policy Review, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2012, pp. 54--81
Digital Gaming and Pediatric Obesity: At the Intersection of Science and Social Policy ∗ Amanda E. Staiano Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Sandra L. Calvert Georgetown University
Children and adolescents in developed countries are heavily immersed in dig- ital media, creating an inexpensive, far-reaching marketing opportunity for the food industry and the gaming industry. However, exposure to nonnutritious food and beverage advertisements combined with the use of stationary media create a conflict between entertainment and public health. Using the popular digital gaming platforms advergames (online games that market branded products) and exergames (video games that involves gross motor activity for play) as exemplars, the following article provides an analysis of the negative and positive health impacts of digital gaming as they relate specifically to overweight and obesity outcomes for children and adolescents. Theoretical explanations including the food marketing defense model, persuasion knowledge model, and social cogni- tive theory are used to explain the influence of gaming on young players’ health. Throughout the article, we discuss the role of public policy to encourage the de- velopment and use of health-promoting digital games as an innovative, effective tool to combat the pediatric obesity crisis.
Policy makers, social scientists, and the public are increasingly concerned by obesity rates, a worldwide epidemic that is rapidly spreading throughout the developed world that casts a long shadow on the future of children and youth. Globally, 43 million overweight children under age 5 now join the 1.5 billion overweight and 500 million obese adults (World Health Organization [WHO], 2011a). Rates of pediatric overweight and obesity exceed 20% in at least 30 countries worldwide, including the United States, Canada, Kuwait, New Zealand,
∗ Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Amanda E. Staiano, Division of Population Science, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808. Tel: 225 763 2729 [e-mail: [email protected]]. 54