New Study Finds Esports Gamers to be More Healthy than the General Population

Esports gamers more healthy than the general population?

While some of society used to view gamers and Esports as an excuse for basement dwelling man children to feel like an actual athlete, opinion of them have changed overtime. In fact, gamers have become some of the most popular media entities in today’s culture and have even taken on the moniker of athlete over time.

Now, some might see that moniker as controversial, but a new study done by the QUT Esports team has found that professional gamers are some of the fittest people in the population. Furthermore, according to the groundbreaking study, Esports athletes are less likely to smoke or drink than the general population, which really does a lot to erase the stereotype of a typical gamer.

“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,” QUT researcher, Michael Trotter said in a statement” As part of their training regime, elite Esports athletes spend more than an hour per day engaging in physical exercise as a strategy to enhance gameplay and manage stress,”

Unfortunately for the world of Esports, this is not true in all cases. For example, the study also found that 4.03% of gamers are morbidly obese, and that more needs to be done to help them into a healthy lifestyle. Although that is a troubling statistic that should be addressed, the study proves that public perception of Esports gamers is far from correct.

Esports becoming the norm

Another interesting aspect of the study is that it recommends connecting with grassroots organizations in High School and college to develop healthy gaming habits. Not only does this show that Esports is starting to gain footing in High School and Colleges but it is also a nice sign that the pastime is slowly integrating it’s way into mainstream society in a positive way.

Gaming is no longer this thing that is done in the privacy of your basement as you munch on nachos and listen to music. It has become an actual sport with actual athletes in it. Athletes that participate in physical activity to stay in peak condition and be ready on game day. They even abstain from drinking and drugs to help make sure that their body is up to the task.

“Exercise and physical activity play a role in success in Esports and should be a focus for players and organizations training Esports players,” Mr. Trotter said. “This will mean that in the future, young gamers will have more reason and motivation to be physically active.”

In the end, the study is interesting in that it challenges preconceived notions about Esports. It also paints players as actual athletes, which is something that will hopefully become more normal as time goes on. Fortunately for Esports though, it has become so popular in the last couple of years that not even the most adamant of haters could slow its progress down at this point.