Children are developing long-term health problems because of the time they spend gaming or glued to devices, a leading doctor warned yesterday.
Further examination revealed the child had developed a dilated bowel because he had stopped himself from going to the toilet so he could carry on gaming.
The boy was playing World of Warcraft, Call of Duty and FIFA for eight hours at a time, Dr Begent said.
Dr Begent, who practices at University College London Hospital, said: 'I was doing my general pediatric clinic one day and a boy walked in, a ten-year-old limping and looking really poorly.
Dr Begent, who was addressing the annual conference of the NSPCC, said gaming and social media were increasingly affecting the physical and mental health of youngsters.
The issue had 'crept up on us', she warned, with an exponential rise of cases in recent years.
She added: 'The sleep and obesity issues are the things we first started noticing – but these more profound physical health issues are just dawning on us now.'
Some children risk their hormones being affected because they are not sleeping enough.
In dramatic cases, Dr Begent believes young girls who are ignoring meals to be able to stay glued to their devices could be at risk of stunting their development.
She said: 'Hormonal pubertal development can be affected if they are low weight. And indeed obesity can affect pre-pubescent development as well, if you are very obese you can get polycystic ovaries – that might affect your periods.'
Worrying about beating another player on video games such as Fortnite is also damaging children's bodies far more than just a fleeting moment of stress, she warned.
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