In recent years, video game play has been a behavioral target for weight reduction and attenuation among children and adolescents – on the one hand, to reduce sedentary video game play and, conversely, to manipulate traditionally sedentary video games into physically active game play.

There were no consistent differences in results based on whether obesity was classified by self-report or objectively measured. There is limited comment to be made on the longitudinal influence of video games on the incidence of obesity as only one longitudinal study was identified, and this study drew upon data collected more than 10 years ago [26].

However, articles that combined video game play with computer or other devices that collected data prior to 2012 found little or no association [30, 32, 33, 35, 36].

3-D gaming in 1995, motion-activated active video games (called “exergames”) that require bodily movement to control on-screen play, and online gaming

This review found ambiguous evidence on the extent to which video game play is or is not significantly associated with obesity in children and preliminary evidence of exergame play as a tool for weight reduction and attenuation of weight gain.

Around this time, video games were becoming repurposed to utilize for positive health-related changes, most notably exergames that required the player to engage in upper and/or lower body movement [16]. No longer solely a sedentary pastime, exergaming was investigated in early studies as a genre of video game that indicated promise for improving players’ physical activity levels [17] and consequently reduce body fat and obesity [18].

What is the current state of observational evidence (cross-sectional and prospective data published in the most recent 5 years) on the relationship between video game play and childhood obesity? (Part 1)To what extent do video games serve as an effective intervention tool for healthy weight in children? (Part 2)What gaps still exist in understanding the relationship between video games and obesity, in particular energy balance behaviors? (Part 3)

Fourteen of the 26 articles (53%) reported no association between video game play and obesity

This review found ambiguous evidence on the extent to which video game play is or is not significantly associated with obesity in children and preliminary evidence of exergame play as a tool for weight reduction and attenuation of weight gain.

In the 11 articles that assessed duration of video game play in general, seven articles did not find an association in adjusted models [21, 31, 33–35, 37, 43]

Research assessing the impact of video game play on young players is needed to keep pace with a rapidly evolving video game industry that remains highly popular and increasingly complex.

The additional use of screens in daily life is a major concern as high amounts of television (TV) viewing have been linked to higher obesity prevalence in children [4] and adverse energy-balance related behaviors including consumption of unhealthy foods while viewing TV [5] and lower physical activity, as screen-time has traditionally been a sedentary behavior [6].

3-D gaming in 1995, motion-activated active video games (called “exergames”) that require bodily movement to control on-screen play, and online gaming

The European Commission is working on guidelines on the use of tracing apps. Vera Jourova, vice-president for values and transparency, says citizens must be able to give informed consent.

n Singapore, the government has asked citizens to opt in to its system and European governments including Germany have stressed that the use of tracking and tracing apps must be done on a voluntary basis.

Vittorio Colao, former Vodafone chief executive now at General Atlantic, says people should be willing to allow the use of “pseudo-anonymised” data by health services such as Britain’s National Health Service to respond to the pandemic. Originally from northern Italy, he says citizens understand the need to trust authorities to handle their data. 

the authorities can require telecoms companies to hand over the mobile phone data of people with confirmed infections to track their location. The data has enabled the rapid deployment of a notification system alerting Koreans to the movements of all potentially contagious people in their neighbourhoods or buildings.

Working together with researchers at Southampton university, Vodafone began compiling sets of location data from mobile phones in the areas where cases of the disease had been recorded.

When the World Health Organization launched a 2007 initiative to eliminate malaria on Zanzibar, it turned to an unusual source to track the spread of the disease between the island and mainland Africa: mobile phones sold by Tanzania’s telecoms groups including Vodafone, the UK mobile operator.

In South Korea, which is seen as a benchmark of how to control infectious diseases,