Play games, die young

A new advertisement campaign by the British government strongly implies that playing video games lead to an early death. The Change4Life campaign features a poster of a boy holding a game console controller with the words “Risk an Early Death, Do Nothing.” The campaign also has a TV commercial that shows a parent and child leaving an unhealthy session of playing video games for an opportunity to play outside.

The campaign is also backed by The British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research and Diabetes UK.

The Change4Life campaign, which also features a second, similar advertisement with another child about to eat a cake, is aimed at promoting physical exercise in children. There’s no evidence that playing video games leads to obesity any more than other sedentary activities. Further, games like Nintendo’s popular Wii Fit points towards an increasing trend of more active games.

Sony Entertainment is considering a suit against the British government to prevent the use of its game controllers in campaign posters.

Change4Life commercial:

Via GamePolitics.