IS NINTENDO bad for your health? Health experts in Britain, the United States and Japan have reacted with alarm to reports of young people suffering fits apparently triggered by computer games.
And in Hongkong, where the MTR and buses are dotted with teenagers engrossed in the latest Super Mario game, doctors are also concerned.
Alarm bells began to ring in Britain when a newspaper reported two boys, with no history of epilepsy, suffered fits while playing Nintendo. Similar cases have since come to light.
The press have now coined the problem ''Nintendo-itis'' and mounted campaigns to get more information on potential problems. Government ministers have promised to investigate.
There is no suggestion playing such games can cause epilepsy in itself. But a Hongkong doctor said: ''While these games don't cause epileptic fits, certain aspects of it, like the flashing lights, can bring them on in someone who has the tendency for it. These are the people who should stay away from flashing or strobe lights.'' The Nintendo and Sega companies have been aware of the potential problems for a while, and both print epilepsy warnings in the leaflets with their products.
However, parents of affected children say the companies should also print a warning on the outside packaging, similar to a cigarette health warning.
The Daily Mail newspaper in Britain has carried out a fascinating experiment to show how playing computer games affects brain patterns.
