UPDATE 1-Doctors want more study on overuse of video games

(Adds psychiatrist interview, industry comment, paragraphs 4, 7-17)

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO, June 27 (Reuters)- The American Medical Association called for more research into the public health risks of video and Internet games on Wednesday but stopped short of declaring them addictive.

The AMA, which recommended a review of the current video game rating system, also said it would leave it up to the American Psychiatric Association and other experts to decide whether video game addiction should be designated a mental illness.

"While more study is needed on the addictive potential of video games, the AMA remains concerned about the behavioral, health and societal effects of video game and Internet overuse," said AMA president Dr. Ronald Davis.

The AMA also wants more study on the effectiveness of the video game ratings system, which has not been updated since 1994. Davis said research has linked exposure to media violence with increased aggressive behavior.

The AMA's debate over video game addiction at the group's annual meeting touched a nerve among doctors, who are not sure what to tell patients and worried parents.

"To the extent that a game is controlling someone's behaviors and taking over their daily life, then you are talking about a compulsive use, whether you categorize it in a psychiatric manual or not," Davis told reporters at a news briefing.

Dr. Timothy Fong, a psychiatrist at the University of California at Los Angeles who specializes in addiction, said video games could be a problem for some.

"Anything in the world can be addictive if you have that biological vulnerability to develop an addiction," he said in a telephone interview.

"This is a brain disease for a very small percentage of kids, but not all kids can become addicted to video games."

Fong said there needs to be more empirical research into the effects of video games, especially on children.

"Otherwise, we are just spouting out myths and stereotypes," he said.

SECOND OPINION

Addiction experts strongly opposed a push earlier this week at the AMA's annual meeting to declare video game addiction a mental illness and recommend its inclusion in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.