A recent study suggests that video games -- not television -- is associated with overweight children. But the video games might not be causing obesity, as many might suspect.

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Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin surveyed almost 3,000 children ages 1 to 12, recording their habits and calculating body mass indices. They found that the children who played video games, which are considered sedentary activities, were more likely to be overweight than children who only watched television and didn't play video games.

"Children with higher weight status spent moderate amounts of time playing electronic games, while children with lower weight status spent either little or a lot of time playing electronic games," said researcher Elizabeth A. Vandewater in the Journal of Adolescence.

The study suggested that the heavier children spent more time in sedentary activities than thinner kids did. Children with lower BMIs were more likely to use computers for non-game purposes, and their video game usage varied.

Researchers said they found no connection between weight and activity and said that heavier kids do become more active at other times to try to lose weight.

They said overweight children are more sedentary and have fewer friends -- so they may simply find themselves with more free time on their hands, which they then fill with video games. This implies that playing video games could be a result of obesity, rather than the other way around, the researchers said.