neils clark

I recently read the autopsy findings for that one famous Korean guy. You know, the one who died after playing 86 straight hours in an Internet cafe.

He died of a fatal pulmonary embolism, caused by deep vein thrombosis (DVT). In simple terms, sitting killed him. See, a lot of sitting caused a blood clot to form in the “deep” veins of his legs. The blood clot then got loose, creating what’s called an embolism. These clots “can lodge in the brain, lungs, heart, or other organs, causing severe damage to those organs.” (1) We’ve observed fatal embolism linked to sitting for over 60 years, but only just now have studies begun linking the condition to computer use and gaming.

The New Zealand Medical Journal recently rounded up 5 people with similar conditions. (2) All 5 were under 40, and had no other risk factors whatsoever for DVT. There’s not enough awareness among the people using computers, but shockingly enough even among medical professionals. Until we get that,

GET SOME EXERCISE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!

If you’ve got 6 hours to do your important business on the computer, then you’ve got 30 minutes to exercise. At the very least, you have 5 minutes to walk your legs every hour.

(1) Lee, H. A New Case of Fatal Pulmonary Thromboembolism Associated with Prolonged Sitting at Computer in Korea. See pictures from the autopsy here: http://www.eymj.org/2004/pdf/04349.pdf

(2) See both the editorial and article - find them by searching for “thromboembolism,” here: http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/118-1212/1398/content.pdf

Neils Clark :: Apr.29.2007 :: Game Addiction, Research ::

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