Health experts around the world have long been extolling the virtues of building some physical activity into our daily routines. There is strong evidence that physical activity reduces the risk of disease, helps to manage existing conditions and boosts mental well-being. People are continually being encouraged to get off their backsides and undertake some form of exercise each and every day.
Playing video games is often viewed as an activity with few health benefits, but a recent study by Betway Insider has debunked that theory. They asked 17 gamers to play seven of the most popular video games for 90 minutes at a time to determine how this compared to a workout. The experiment revealed that Fortnite helped gamers burn off a whopping 194 calories on average during a gaming session.
By contrast, you would need to do more than 350 squats to equal the amount of calories burned during 90 minutes of playing Fortnite. FIFA (189) and Call of Duty: Warzone (188) were not far behind Fortnite in terms of the calories burned by participants during the test. Call of Duty: Warzone was found to be the game that got your heart peaking the most, producing an average maximum heart rate of 119 beats per minute (BPM). Fortnite players recorded the highest overall average, with participants’ heart rates increasing to 89 BPM during a 90 minute gaming session.
Having established that playing video games can provide physical benefits, it is worth noting they also offer plenty of mental gains. Video games improve some of your cognitive abilities including visuospatial skills. This skill can help with everyday tasks such as driving. Gaming also improves problem-solving skills and logic, with one study finding that a group of professional gamers had ‘heightened connectivity between certain sub-regions in the insular cortex’.
This effectively translates to enhanced cognitive abilities, which improves the ability to plan and think strategically during everyday life. Increased hand-to-eye coordination, greater multi-tasking ability and improved social interactions are other benefits derived from gaming.
Given the evidence, gaming can undoubtedly provide several physical and mental benefits, although there is a caveat to this. As with most other activities, it is imperative to moderate your gaming sessions to ensure that tiredness does not creep in.
Sitting down and playing video games for 10-12 hours might seem like fun, but this is likely to cause more harm than good. Replacing traditional physical activity with gaming is not advised as it is perfectly feasible to incorporate each element into your daily routine.
If the prospect of doing more than 350 squats to burn a few calories sends a shiver down your spine, you can still exercise in other ways. Taking the dog for a walk, visiting the local park or a 20-minute jog around the block are amongst the ways you can be physically active.
Ultimately it is advisable to strike a balance to ensure you get the maximum benefits from the activities you undertake each day.
