Children who are hooked on Fortnite will be treated on the NHS after gaming addiction has been classified as medical disorder.
The condition will now be recognised as an official mental disorder after the World Health Organisation chiefs listed it under the International Classification of Diseases, which entitles free healthcare.
From Monday, governments around the world are expected to provide treatment for ‘gaming disorder’ and incorporate it into their healthcare systems.
The move comes after mother Kendal Parmar campaigned for treatment for her son, 15, who was so addicted to video games that he didn’t attend school for a year.
Children who are hooked on Fortnite will be treated on the NHS after gaming addiction has been classified as a medical disorder
![Fortnite has hit 125 million players worldwide just a year after it was first released, with an estimated 40 million playing monthly](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/17/10/4D4775C300000578-5853241-image-a-10_1529227694188.jpg)
Fortnite has hit 125 million players worldwide just a year after it was first released, with an estimated 40 million playing monthly
Experts have stated their fear many children are at risk of developing mental health problems as a result of over-exposure to violent and addictive video games.
Culture Secretary Matt Hancock has warned that addictive online shooter games can have a damaging impact on children.
Miss Parmar’s son addiction to online gaming left him confined to his north London home as his confidence plummeted.
The teenager was even admitted to hospital for eight weeks because his ability to function was so impaired.
When he left, he was offered Vitamin D tablets to reverse the effects of months without sunlight.
Miss Parmar has battled for three years to get the NHS to recognise internet gaming as a treatable condition so those in her son’s situation can get the help they need without having to pay about £350 a session for private therapy.
The mother-of-five told The Telegraph: ‘Every moment he’s awake, he wants to be on a game. There is no outside world. It has become all-consuming.
‘The biggest effect on our family is the isolation from us all. He is estranged within our own house. We have lost him…although we know he is in there.’
It comes as Fortnite is taking over the world as the most popular video game, but experts have warned of an impending addiction crisis.
A recent study showed a staggering four per cent of youngsters are clinically at risk of internet addiction.
![The move comes after mother Kendal Parmar (left) campaigned for treatment for her son, 15, who was so addicted to video games that he has not been to school for a year](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/17/10/4D2E095900000578-5853241-image-a-11_1529227736160.jpg)
The move comes after mother Kendal Parmar (left) campaigned for treatment for her son, 15, who was so addicted to video games that he has not been to school for a year
Fortnite has hit 125 million players worldwide just a year after it was first released, with an estimated 40 million playing monthly.
The unrivalled popularity of Fortnite among players has partly been fuelled by its availability for free on smartphones as well as on traditional home video game consoles, making it popular among teenage gamers as well as seasoned players.
Fortnite’s most popular format is the Battle Royale in which 100 players fight each other until one is left standing.
Professional gamers are making up to £500,000 a month from live-streaming their matches for children to watch.
Last week it was revealed a nine-year-old girl was in rehab after becoming so addicted to a video game she wet herself to avoid moving and hit her father when he tried to stop her playing.
![The unrivalled popularity of Fortnite among players has partly been fuelled by its availability for free on smartphones as well as on traditional home video game consoles, making it popular among teenage gamers as well as seasoned players](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/17/10/4D2D7AA400000578-5853241-image-a-12_1529227741842.jpg)
The unrivalled popularity of Fortnite among players has partly been fuelled by its availability for free on smartphones as well as on traditional home video game consoles, making it popular among teenage gamers as well as seasoned players
The primary school pupil became obsessed with Fortnite, which been downloaded more than 40 million times since it was launched last July.
She would secretly play the survival shooter game during the night and didn’t even get up to use the toilet because she couldn’t tear herself away from the screen.
The girl, who is now in intensive therapy to combat her addiction, would play for up to 10 hours a day. Worn out from all-night sessions, she dozed off at school.
She even lashed out at her father when he tried to confiscate her Xbox gaming console.
The girl’s mother told Matthew Barbour for the Sunday People: ‘We had no idea, when we let her play the game, of the addictive nature or the impact it could have on her mental health.’