Too much gaming time may raise kids’ blood pressure

Lots of things can raise your blood pressure — traffic jams, stressful days at work, pictures of mostly naked girls writhing on a bed of cherries. Apparently the latest in this list is videogames, according to a study found over at HealthDay News. Here’s what they had to say about the topic (Via GamePolitics):

American and Spanish researchers examined the association between sedentary behavior and blood pressure in 111 boys and girls, 3 to 8 years old. For seven days, the children wore a special device that recorded their activity levels. In addition, their parents reported how much time the youngsters spent watching TV, playing video games, painting, sitting or doing other low-level activities.

The researchers also measured the children’s height, weight, fat mass and blood pressure…

“The results of this study showed that TV viewing and screen time were associated with elevated blood pressure independent of body composition in children,” the researchers wrote.

So what you’re saying is that participating in a form of media that causes children to react will raise their blood pressure? Really? I really don’t get these common sense studies, but since they seem to be all the rage I’ll keep reading them and wondering when the breaking report that the sun is officially in the sky today is going to hit all the major news outlets.