Childhood obesity has been considered to be an epidemic in the US affecting one in every six children. Recently, national surveillance data gathered by CDC indicate that obese and overweight rates have tripled. In the 1970s it was reported that only 4% of the children were obese and now the figure has tripled to near 16% of children who are obese ( Skinner & Skelton, 2014) . High rates of obesity in early childhood has resulted in the issue being termed as a public health threat in the 21st century.
Children with obesity have a high likelihood of becoming obese as adults irrespective of the parental obesity status. Obesity is a complicated problem with numerous drivers such as behaviors, genetics, environment and culture ( Cunningham et.al, 2014) . However, the roots cause of obesity is energy imbalance whereby children take more energy food that they use through activity. Physical activity has been linked to many health benefits for the children like bone and muscle strength, maintaining a healthy weight as well as improved sleep quality. Obesity is a major cause if cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and other types of cancer.
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Synthesis of the reliable research
A series of literature studies have indicated that video games are a major contributor to childhood obesity. Every hour that children spent playing video games doubles the risk of becoming obese. A research was conducted on a group of 12-year olds who rested and then played computer games for an hour. Blood samples were collected in every 10minutes for an hour ( Chaput et.al 2011) . The researchers also measured the amount of calories’ burned off by requesting them to breathe into a machine that measures the levels and oxygen and carbon and calculated how many calories the group was burning off. The Canadians and Danish researchers realized that the boys burn off 21 extra calories while they were playing the computer games but they consumer over 80 calories afterward ( Dennison & Edmunds, 2008) .
The study indicates that children who are involved in playing games eat more even though the calories that are burned while playing these games are less ( Chaput et.al 2011) . Other studies also show that video games increase snacking and mindless eating especially fast foods. Most of the kids do not eat healthy snacks while playing videos and such behavior promotes the prevalence of obesity. Overall various studies have shown that playing video games is a contributing factor of obesity in children.
Currently, the laws that are there regarding video games do not necessarily focus on the number of hours per day spent on video games. Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is the current body that regulates video content and age appropriateness. The body focuses on informing consumers on making informed decisions while purchasing video and computer games. Therefore there are no current policies that regulate the extent of time that kids should spend while playing the video game ( Chaput et.al 2011) .
Recommendation 1: Government agencies and the community should be involved in intensive campaigns sensitizing the role of video games in children obesity.
Justification and implementation plan
The negative effects of video games on children should be given the attention it deserves. Children obesity has been identified as an epidemic and hence it should not be ignored. Cunningham et.al (2014) notes that by playing video games, most of the children have become inactive as they spend most of the time indoors. This means that they are not involved in physical exercises, and it makes them more susceptible to obesity and other related lifestyle diseases in later life. Nonetheless, this issue must be noted that it is closely associated with parental control regarding allowing the children to spend most of their time playing video games and unsupervised.
Additionally, most of the parents are so busy with work and do not have time to supervise outdoor activities that children engage in and hence paying video game is an easy and entertaining option for the children. Parents should be sensitized on limiting the number of hours spent indoors on video games and arrange for outdoor or indoor activities. To make such activities appealing, parents should include even the friends. ( Dennison & Edmunds, 2008) .
Recommendation 2: Promoting physical activity and quality sports programs in schools
Children spend a substantial amount of time in schools and hence keeping them active is important. According to Dennison & Edmunds (2008), a t home, children are rarely involved in any outdoor games or physical activities and therefore promoting such programs in schools will be beneficial as it will ensure the children have indulged in sports activity before going back home. Walking and cycling to schools offers a healthy way that the children can start their day.
In England, the government initiated a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy that focused on investing over £300 million to support walking and cycling. The strategy was meant to increase the number of children who either walked or cycled to school. Fortunately, there are game consoles that promote physical activities such as dancing and hence parent should also purchase such games to encourage children to involve in physical activities (Skinner &Skeleton, 2014).
Limitation
The correlation of video games and children obesity is a controversial issue because while some researcher shows that it is not a healthy relationship others are quick to note that video games reduce the chances of being obese. This contradictory information has led to mixed reactions because people are not aware on which research to believe. Therefore there is the need for the government to conduct a comprehensive research to prove whether video games promote or reduces obesity in children. (Skinner &Skeleton, 2014).
References
Chaput, J. P., Visby, T., Nyby, S., Klingenberg, L., Gregersen, N. T., Tremblay, A. ... & Sjödin, A. (2011). Video game playing increases food intake in adolescents: a randomized crossover study. The American journal of clinical nutrition , 93 (6), 1196-1203.
Cunningham, S. A., Kramer, M. R., & Narayan, K. V. (2014). The incidence of childhood obesity in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine , 370 (5), 403-411.
Dennison, B. A., & Edmunds, L. S. (2008). The role of television in childhood obesity. Progress in Pediatric Cardiology , 25 (2), 191-197.
Skinner, A. C., & Skelton, J. A. (2014). Prevalence and trends in obesity and severe obesity among children in the United States, 1999-2012. JAMA pediatrics , 168 (6), 561-566.
