Gamer Dies Because of Being Immobile for Too Long

[jackattack1398]

Don't worry, this isn't one of those "Oh, no! Video games will kill you" stories. Chris Staniforth, a 20-year-old gamer, died from Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), which can form during long periods of immobility. Now his father wants people to understand the risks.

DVT involves the formation of blood clots during those periods of immobility, and can be fatal if the clots travel to the lungs. While Staniforth's father David doesn't necessarily blame video games for the death of his son, he hopes to raise awareness for DVT and its dangers.

According to his father, Chris Staniforth would play video games for 12 hours at a time. However, David Staniforth is not out to demonize gaming as a whole. "After my research I saw there was no difference to Chris sitting at a desk on his Xbox and someone on a long-haul flight. Sitting still is literally the danger zone."

In a statement, Microsoft responded with: "We have always encouraged responsible game play through our education campaigns such as Play Smart, Play Safe. We recommend that gamers take periodic breaks to exercise as well as make time for other pursuits."

Source: http://www.gameinfor...-awareness.aspx

Not only is this sad, but it is also something that you should be aware of. I dunno about you guys, but the longest I've ever played games without stopping was about 6 hours. I've probably been on the computer for even longer than that in one sitting.

[Dreakon139]

That is sad, I'll be honest though, I think there's something else going on there. On a normal day I spend 8 hours on the computer at work, then come home and spend most of the night watching TV and playing PS3. I guarantee you I'm not the only person that does that. If this were some sort of epidemic, I think we (those of us engrained in the world of computers and gaming) would hear about it more. Like they even mentioned in the article, what about long flights and everything. We can't just sit here and pretend that sitting has suddenly become too dangerous. That's where I draw the line lol.

12 hours is a bit of an obscene amount of gaming though, especially if he did them very often. I wonder if he would get up and walk around at all during those 12 hours or if it were literally just sitting in the same spot the whole time.

Sad nonetheless, hopefully this can be used as an example to encourage people to take breaks from gaming for a half hour to an hour if they plan on having a marathon like that.

[Parker]

Sad story, but I'm actually very surprised that the parents aren't trying to blame Microsoft to get millions from them. Any word on how good of shape the kid was in? I'd be willing to bet he's probably at least a little overweight which more than likely had more to do with his early death than sitting still for extended periods of time.

Parker

[Nagflar]

Five words, that you all should be thinking:

I don't give a fuck.

It's something that will never happen to me (since I am constantly moving to avoid back/ass/anything pain), and that I certainly don't care about.

[A_FlyingMegaKiwi]

Dude should have saved.

[Spark-N]

dude must have had a serious case of swampass but yeah i only sit for 3 - 8 hours a day maybe less and even while playing games i move around a lot, getting up to get food, take a slash you know the usual

[MannyCalavera16]

.

Edited November 8, 2012 by MannyCalavera16

[Nagflar]

What a casual.

Yeah, we all know hardcore players can resist at least 24 hours without moving.

[dsluckay]

I have one question. How didnt the X-box not get the RROD?

[Dreakon139]

I have one question. How didnt the X-box not get the RROD?

If it did, he'd probably be alive.

Think about that.

[Azakos]

If it did, he'd probably be alive.

Think about that.

Unless they poetically both gave out at the same exact time.

[Black-Xero]

...How? I don't know how someone would be able to sit there for 12 hours without moving enough to avoid something like this. I can't even last 2 hours without taking some sort of break. He must have been really entranced in the game.

[AlteredFormula]

I remember reading that in the papers when it happened, even though the father was not blaming video games the red tops still ran the headline of: STUDENT KILLED BY XBOX.

Without disrespecting the dead, the kid played 12 hours daily for some months. When all you do is sit in front of a computer and sleep, you are bound to get health issues, thats got nothing to do with gaming... I mean, even Manny takes a break by going to school.

[Azakos]

I remember reading that in the papers when it happened, even though the father was not blaming video games the red tops still ran the headline of: STUDENT KILLED BY XBOX.

Without disrespecting the dead, the kid played 12 hours daily for some months. When all you do is sit in front of a computer and sleep, you are bound to get health issues, thats got nothing to do with gaming... I mean, even Manny takes a break by going to school.

If you're trying to defend gaming here, I can agree that it didn't directly affect him, but it is the reason why he was immobile for so long, which lead to his health issues. Guns don't kill people, people kill people, that whole deal.