The addiction to video games could be labeled as a psychiatric disease according to a proposal to be debated by the American Medical Association.

The proposal is backed by the Maryland State Medical Society and if AMA approves the recommendation, video game addiction might be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the standard diagnostic text used by psychiatrists worldwide.

Dr Martin Wasserman, executive director of the Maryland State Medical Society, said video game addiction is real, has "a profound impact on the lives of individuals" and that the question is not whether the disorder exists, but how many people are affected by it.

"Basically, you're using a disproportionate amount of time on the video game, and it's what you are thinking about even when you're not on the video game," he said. "And even though it's having negative consequences for you in school or your family situation, or it's taking a disproportionate amount of your money, you still continue to do it. You spend less time with your friends or in other social things.", Wasserman added.

Also if the video games addiction will became an official diagnosis those who suffer from it would then be eligible to receive insurance coverage for treatment of their condition.

The president of the video game industry's trade group, Michael Gallagher of the Entertainment Software Association, reacted quickly and he criticize the AMA in a statement saying that the association is "making premature conclusions without the benefit of complete and thorough data."