"Link to Rickets Unfounded and Unfair", Says TIGA

By January 25, 2010 Press Releases

TIGA said today that it was ludicrous to suggest that playing video games was responsible for an apparent increase in cases of rickets. TIGA made the comments following newspaper stories about a review in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal suggesting a link between playing games and the medical condition of rickets.

Rickets is caused by Vitamin D deficiency. The main source of Vitamin D is sunlight, through skin exposure. Vitamin D is also present in a small number of foods, such as oily fish or cod liver oil.

Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, said:

“It is very sad to hear of the increase in cases of rickets, but it is ludicrous to blame video games for this medical problem. Any activity or habit that prevents children or adults from getting sufficient exposure to sunlight could be blamed: for example, reading books or watching television. Equally, playing video games does not ineluctably lead to a bad diet. Parents can help to protect their children from getting rickets by giving them a healthy diet and ensuring that they get some time outside to play and to take exercise.

“Quite apart from their entertainment value, video games can have positive educational benefits. We must avoid losing sight of the advantages of video games and avoid blaming them for every problem under the sun.””

About TIGA:
TIGA is the trade association representing the UK’s games industry. The majority of our members are either independent games developers or in-house publisher owned developers. We also have outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership.
TIGA’s vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business. We focus on three sets of activities: political representation, generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the competitiveness of our members. This means that Tiga members are effectively represented in the corridors of power, their voice is heard in the media and they receive benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities.

For further information, please contact: Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on: 0845 0941095; Mob: 07875 939643; or Email: richard.wilson@tiga.org, or, Eva Field, TIGA PR Manager on: 07814 039 983, or email eva@tiga.org.

Cookies

We use cookies on our site to track activity and visitor numbers - please help us by allowing us to use them on your visit.