Is there anyone doubting the above stated fact? And I'm not talking about this kind of games being good for those who obsessively play games, forgetting to eat and sleep, but good for the common people who might play games for no more than 1 or 2 hours a day, on average. A new survey commissioned by the game division of RealNetworks reveals data that strongly supports the theory that casual games are good for you.

The survey offers a wide array of interesting and intriguing facts regarding the effects of casual games on players. It seems that 59% of those concerned about their weight who participated in the survey say that playing games made them think less about food, resulting in reduced overeating.

42% of the surveyed smokers stated that playing casual games made them forget about smoking during breaks at work and 42% of the above also mentioned that they actively used short gaming breaks as one of the means to limit their nicotine intake.

Most of the participants in the survey also said that they felt more "relaxed and relieved of stress" after the typical game break, whether they were at work or at home.

Information Solutions Group, the company that conducted the whole survey, says that 4,537 people were interviewed in the process and that the data was gathered between December 2007 and January 2008.

It seems that casual games, which generally do not require much time for a play session and which are pretty easy to get into, are functioning as regular habit breakers. In fact forming a habit of playing videogames on the PC tends to kick habits like snacking and smoking.

It might sound odd to say it but if you're looking to lose weight or if you'd like to reduce the daily nicotine intake, you might wanna start thinking about getting a "healthy" addiction to Zuma, Bejewelled, Puzzle Quest or any one of the thousands of casual games that the marked has to offer.