Several specific names have been given to video-game related health problems, for example PlayStation thumb, Nintendinitis and acute Wiiitis; however, the literature does not seem to support these as truly separate disease entities.
[12] Physical signs linked to excessive video game playing include black rings in the skin under the eyes and muscular stiffness in the shoulders, possibly caused by a tense posture or sleep deprivation.
[15] In 2009, during a speech to the American Medical Association, US President Barack Obama identified video games as a health concern, stating that they are a key factor in unhealthy sedentary lifestyles.
[16] When questioned, children often admit to having physical complaints during too much video game playing, for example pain in the hands and wrists, back and neck.
[25] Consistently long sessions of video game play also leads to an increased likelihood of lower back pain, according to a study conducted in a population of school children.
Children who played video games for more than 2 hours a day were more inclined to have lower back pain; however, the same could not be said for those who watched television instead.
[32] The recent trend of "active video games" revolving around the Wii and Xbox Kinect might be a way to help combat the aforementioned problem, however, this finding still needs confirmation from other studies.
[35] It has been estimated that children in the United States are spending 25 percent of their waking hours watching television and playing video games.
Statistically, the children who watch the most hours of television or play video games are shown to have the highest incidence of obesity.