Video Games and Rickets: The Silent Nuisance

You know what they say: Video games don’t cause rickets. Rickets cause rickets. Or something like that. But here’s a study from the British Medical Journal, finding that too much time spent indoors — playing video games, no doubt! — is contributing to a veritable rickets epidemic. The disease is actually caused by a lack of Vitamin D, which you can easily soak up by spending some time in the sun. Problem is that kids aren’t really doing that anymore, doctors say. “Vitamin D levels in parts of the population are precarious,” said Professor Simon Pearce, one of the study’s authors. “The average worker nowadays is in a call centre, not out in the field. People tend to stay at home rather than going outside to kick a ball around. They stay at home on computer games.”

Rickets, if you’re not aware, can cause bone pain or tenderness in the arms, legs, pelvis and spine. People with rickets can develop skeletal and dental deformities, such as bow legs, and may have impaired growth. Other factors that may be contributing to more cases of rickets: People who put on too much sunscreen because they fear skin cancer, and a rising population of Asian and African descent, who need more sunlight to get Vitamin D due to their darker skin. Fortunately for vampire gamers, Pearce’s recommendation is that the food supply be spiked with more Vitamin D. Who needs sun, anyway? [via The Guardian]