Leisure time physical activity, playing digital games and health problems in youngsters

ABSTRACT: Background: Youngsters have great accessibility to computers. This affects the preferences of youngsters in terms of spending their free times. Playing digital games is one of the most popular activities for them, and this can affect the level of leisure time physical activity and also can compromise their health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between leisure time physical activity and playing digital games of youngsters. Materials and methods: The subjects were 272 youngsters studying in high schools of Tehran from form 1 to form 3. Results: Result of this study indicated that leisure time physical activity is negatively correlated to playing digital games (r=-0.035, ? < 0.05).b) Digital games are positively related to health problems (r=0/424, ? < 0.01).c) Leisure time physical activity is negatively correlated to health problems (r=-0.058, ? < 0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, as the level of playing digital games increases, health problems also may be increased in youngsters by reducing the level of participation in leisure time physical activity.