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Gambling, Gaming & Technology Use Community of Interest

The Gambling, Gaming & Technology Use Community of Interest brings together addiction and mental health service providers, researchers and subject matter experts in the fields of gambling, technology/Internet use and video gaming to collaborate and share knowledge on emerging trends and clinical best practices.

A recent publication from the American Hearth Association (AHA) has reiterated a commonly understood link between sedentary behaviour and heart disease.  What's interesting is that they link it to the amount of time we spend in front of our screens.

Longitudinal studies among adults show that increases in key indicators of sedentary behavior, including screen time and sitting time, are associated with an increased risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular disease.

As our screen time continues to increase in both professional and personal life, it is alarming to view it as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. 

Take a look through here for more information.

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Thanks for sharing Howie! I remember when the articles starting coming out a few years ago claiming "sitting is the new smoking" I was very, very scared. Those of us who work behind a computer know how much time we spend sitting in front of a screen. I can imagine that for young people, it will be even more true when they reach the working world, as they are accustomed to being on their phones/computers in their personal time.

Let's hope the future brings some sort of technological advances that can result it being more active, even if you have to be on a computer for work!

Thanks for sharing. As a mom with an adult son who is now 14 months detoxed from gaming, I can't say enough about how much exercise played a huge part in getting into recovery and continuing it with success for my son. It not only helps with keeping his heart healthy but also gives him the dopamine high he was addicted to with gaming. He is still working hard at keeping the balance as his work in in a maintenance software company doesn't provide the needed movement and cardio. He uses a kneeling chair at work and outside of work he does running, table tennis, and martial arts. It's so important for everyone to find this kind of balance for both heart health and healthy mental health in this tech driven world. 

Great article, Howie, thanks for sharing! I agree with Elaine; exercise is so important to get our blood flowing and reduce our risk of developing one of the communicable diseases (e.g. high blood pressure, type II diabetes, etc.). 

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) has released physical activity guidelines for adults and children. I think what's important to remember is to incorporate exercise into your daily routine so that you're more likely to stick with it. For example, i'll sometimes walk to a washroom/water fountain on another floor to get in more steps!

Adults 18-64 
http://www.csep.ca/cmfiles/guidelines/csep_paguidelines_adults_en.pdf 

Children 5-17
http://csepguidelines.ca/wp-co...Guidelines2016_2.pdf

Thanks for sharing, Howie! I think it's so important to highlight how sedentary behaviour, including screen use, has multiple risks associated with it across different dimensions of wellness. In other discussion threads we've discussed some of the psychosocial risks associated with screen use, and it's also important to highlight some of the physical health risks (as the article you posted suggests).

The Canadian Pediatric Society has released a guide for physicians focusing on sedentary behaviour in children and youth.  In this document it describes strategies to reduce sedentary behaviour, including ways to limit screen time.

Personally, I'm a strong advocate for physical activity as through my clinical practice I've seen anecdotally the important role that physical activity can play in clients' recovery journeys, in terms of the impact it can have on overall health and wellness.

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