And now, videogames destroy your teeth

Do you need me to qualify that? Well sorry, I just can’t. And neither, it seems, can the University of Iowa, whose research (according to WalesOnline, anyway) basically only proves that, yes, eating sugary stuff rots your teeth.

Nobody at 360 possesses a dentistry qualification, but we knew this already. What we’re unsure about is, given that the report basically highlights time spent stuck in front of a screen as a greater opportunity to snack on sticky, sugary junk, why highlight videogames as the chief perpetrator of this vile decay?

“The study, which examined teenagers between 12 and 16, suggested dietary habits leading to decay are associated with screen activities and that computer games, if associated with increased snacking are associated with decay experience.”

Please note the “if associated” part here. Is this just the way WalesOnline chose to flag up the information? No – because the original report, also, needlessly highlights videogames at the front of most of its statements on the matter:

“Our pilot data suggest that potentially cariogenic dietary habits are associated with screen activities, and that computer and total screen times are associated with caries experience.”

“Computer and total screen times”. What’s the point of saying it like that? A screen is a screen is a screen – computer, television, or otherwise. Once again, it feels distinctly like villainising the demon game somehow makes the information more, ahem, palatable.

“Subjects who ate or drank while playing video games played more hours/day than subjects who didn’t eat or drink”. Again, why videogames? What about “subjects” who cram their moronic faces with overpriced ice cream and popcorn while kicking the seat in front all the way through some mindless, 87-minute flashing lights display down their nearest multiplex? What about that special kind of parent who shoves their kid in front of a string of Disney DVDs all day, their pink, sausage fingers clasped around a bag of Pick ‘n’ Mix, sitting in stupefied silence until the moment when the last crumb of sugar has been scraped from the bag, and they automatically squeal for more Haribo Star Mix?

In fact, how much food are you going to put away when you’re holding a pad, anyway? Or a guitar controller, or a Wii remote, for that matter? Generally we don’t like getting sugary gunk stuck in our analogue stick. I’d wager gamers probably eat less than your average prime time TV zombie.

What do you think? Are you tired of videogames being needlessly victimised in order to prove shaky points? Tell us your views!