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Gaming addiction to be classified by WHO as a mental health disorder

The addition of "gaming disorder" to a global manual of standards is among the notable changes the U.N. health agency unveiled in its first update in nearly three decades.

A popular video game for kids
A popular video game for kids (AN/J. Heilprin)

GENEVA (AN) — An inability to stop playing video games due to digital addiction will be classified as a mental health condition for the first time in the World Health Organization's diagnostic manual of the world's diseases.

The addition of "gaming disorder" is among the notable changes that WHO unveiled in its eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases — the first such update in nearly three decades.

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