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Good news, gamers: study says gaming burns as much calories as 1,000 sit-ups

We can FIFA or Call of Duty our way to a beach body after all.

Good news, gamers: study says gaming burns as much calories as 1,000 sit-ups
(Image: Unsplash/Jeshoots.com)

If the pandemic has led you to become an avid gamer with little to no physical activity, you shouldn’t feel too guilty about it. That’s because apparently, aside from long-established benefits like improving our cognitive abilities, problem-solving skills, and visual-spatial sense, playing video games also helps burn fatMen’s Health reports. 

The study that said so was conducted by Stakester, an e-sports platform that lets users win money and prizes by playing video games. According to its findings, male gamers burn an astounding 420 calories after a two-hour gaming session — that’s an effort equivalent to doing 1,000 sit-ups!

Women gamers fared slightly better in the study, registering about 472 calories burned for the same period.

“We all know that competition increases our heart rate and most of us have experienced the ‘gaming sweat’ that happens when you’re searching for a last-minute goal in FIFA or in a tight spot in Warzone,” explained Stakester founder and CEO Tom Fairey to Men’s Health. “”It’s no surprise that this burns calories, but we were surprised to see just how many are burned during a two-hour session, it certainly beats doing 1,000 sit-ups”

To achieve the results, researchers from Stakester tracked the heart rate and caloric burn of 50 gamers as they played FIFA and Warzone over two hours. In conclusion, they discovered that, after a full hour of intense gaming sessions, male gamers burned an average of 210 calories.

Call of Duty: Warzone (for PC) Review | PCMag
(Image: Call of Duty: Warzone/Activision)

While the study seems to be a beacon of hope for hardcore, couch-bound gamers, the study’s findings are hardly surprising. Another study by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) also found a beneficial link between gaming and a healthy lifestyle. According to a study by QUT of 1,400 gamers across 65 countries, 21% of video game players are more likely to have healthier body weights than the average population, and that e-sport gamers tend to smoke and drink less and are significantly more active than the rest of the general public. 

“The findings challenge the stereotype of the morbidly obese gamer,” said Michael Trotter, QUT esports researcher. “”When you think of esports, there are often concerns raised regarding sedentary behavior and poor health as a result, and the study revealed some interesting and mixed results.”

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