Health Determinants Related to Digital Game Playing: A Systematic Review

Digital games have become more and more popular in recent years. These games are part of everyday life for many people and offer a wide range of opportunities for user entertainment and experience. Despite their entertainment purpose, the increasing use of digital games has raised concern about the possible negative consequences for gamers, especially among children and adolescents. The purpose of this systematic review is to determine the relationship between digital game playing behaviour and health determinants in children and youth aged 12 - 24 years. Four electronic databases were searched. 39 studies met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. There is a wide base of evidence from different kinds of study designs which support the view that excessive digital game playing may cause harmful consequences for the health and health related behaviour of target users. These findings can be used to develop strategies that aim at reducing problematic game behavior and its negative consequences.