Video games are always in the spotlight by healthcare professionals. Many think that they are the main enemy of the sedentary life of children, adolescents and adults, but is it true? Can you lose weight even while playing video games?
Despite being considered a lazy activity, a new study suggests that playing video games can help you lose weight. Research, conducted by Stakester , revealed that male players can burn a whopping 420 calories in a two-hour gaming session , while girls could get up to 472 calories, the equivalent of doing 1,000 sit-ups. Stakester is an application that connects players who want to put their gaming skills to the test by playing their favorite games for money and prizes.
Can video games replace training?
“We all know that s games increases competition n our heart rate and most of us have experienced the” sweat of the games “that happens when you’re looking for a last – minute goal in FIFA or escape want to live in Warzone , ” he said Tom Fairey, CEO. and founder of Stakester.
That is why the company assures that it is not surprising that this burns calories. Many are surprised to see how many are burned during a 2-hour session, although it is not comparable to doing a thousand sit-ups either. In the study, the researchers used smart devices to measure the heart rate and calories burned by 50 players while they played FIFA and Warzone for two hours. The same measurements were also monitored for other people while performing sit-ups.
The results revealed that the male players burned an average of 210 calories per hour during the experiment. Meanwhile, the players burned about 236 calories per hour while playing online. The survey also revealed that esports gamers smoke and drink less than the general public and are significantly more active as a result of certain video games. However, it cannot be said that 2 hours of video games is equivalent to an abdominal workout. Although the heart rate rises, muscle activation and cardiac endurance are not comparable to physical exercise.
To put that in context, it is suggested that it would take around 57 minutes to burn a Mars bar (230 calories), 1 hour and 4 minutes to burn a Big Mac (257 calories) and 50 minutes to burn a half slice of Margherita’s pizza. Domino’s Pizza (200 calories). So the only option to lose calories in a healthy way is to be active. Can physical activity be combined with video games? A clear example is Ring Fit Adventure.
Is it compatible with a healthier lifestyle?
This is not the first time that research indicates that playing video games may be good for your health. Last year, a team from Queensland University of Technology found that gamers are up to 2 1% more likely to have a healthier body weight than the average person.
The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) conducted the study by surveying 1,400 gamers from 65 countries in what they say is the first study to investigate the BMI (body mass index) status of a global sample of esports players. The research revealed that the findings challenge the stereotype of the morbidly obese gamer. When we think of esports, concerns arise about sedentary behavior and poor health as a result, and the study revealed some interesting and mixed results.
