Doctors have observed a rise in 8- to 18-year-old kids consulting their doctors over unexplained back problems that normally were complained by adults in their 50s. The ailment is characterised by deformation of the spine because the victims spend long hours daily in a hunched position playing computer games on devices such as iPads and smartphones.

The two Dutch orthopaedic experts who have noticed the trend called the ailment Gameboy back, named after the popular computer game.

Among children and teens, the medical condition was observed a century ago when child labour was widespread in Europe.

"In those days, kids got weak backs from child labour; now they're getting it from these devices. It makes no difference to the body whether you're hunched over in a cigar factory or spending eight hours over an iPad," Irish Times quoted Dr Andre Soeterbroek.

Dr Piet Van Loon compared the spinal bones of kids to growing bonsai trees, with bones responding in the same way wood does. Forcing it in a certain direction over a long period would be the way it would end up growing.

But the two doctors, who reported their discovery in an article in Medisch Contact, a Dutch medical magazine, stressed the problem is not on the gadgets per se, and it would not solve the medical condition by banning them.

"Attention to posture has almost disappeared the world over. That's an urgent message we want to send to parents, physical education teachers and family doctors: it's becoming accepted as normal that children and teenagers have bad posture," the doctors explained.

To find if your kids have Gameboy back, have then bend over and touch their feet to make an "n" shape. If they are suffering from curvature of the spine, they could not flex in the middle enough to reach their toes. To counter the ailment, these kids could still force their spine to curve outwards by lying on their front and supporting their bodies on their elbows.

Now, curing their Gameboy addiction is another matter.

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