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Online Gamers More Physically Fit Than Average?

from the wonders-never-cease dept

Fri, Sep 19th 2008 6:11am — Mike Masnick

It's been a good week for video gamers and a bad week for stereotypes of video gamers, apparently. Earlier we wrote about a study talking about how video gamers were actually quite social, and now a new study suggests that online gamers are more physically fit than your average American (perhaps not saying much). No one seems to think that there's a causal relationship here, as it may just be that video gamers tend to be wealthier and more educated -- who also tend to be in better shape. There's also the issue that this appears to be based on self-reported stats, which may not be that accurate. Still, it appears that studies are starting to chip away at the stereotype of the overweight, social loner video gamer.

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Filed Under: fit, health, video gamers, video gaming

46 Comments

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underdog, 19 Sep 2008 @ 6:40am

Not sure I get it
Im an avid gamer and regular techdirt reader, but Im not sure why this article is here. Are you making a point about the unreliability of statistics?
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- Orincarnia, 19 Sep 2008 @ 6:58am
  
  Re: Not sure I get it
  Its an ongoing report about the statistics of gamers, when in was in middle school if you had a game system and your mom didn't make you go outside and play, you were most likely overweight.
  
  With the health food, better living and eating habits being thrown everywhere from the "experts" its bound to get in the heads of moms and even teens and 20somethings.
  
  i myself am a 20something and i play videogames regularly (Halo 3, rock band, and rpg games on ps3) i have always been quite thin all my life but my freshman 15 hit me hard.
  
  with my gaming i now have developed a work out ratio of work out time to play time. of course i could buy wii fit and be done with it. but that would be the easy way out.
  
  i don't really like it when someone asks "whats the point of that?" information is information and i enjoy learning. learning enables me to grow, and it seems that asking whats the point only states "why am i learning this what purpose does this serve"
  
  Thats the mentality of a medical student (or so the past article states) that you just want to learn enough in life to get through it.
  
  i want to learn EVERYTHING!
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- PaulT (profile), 19 Sep 2008 @ 7:02am
  
  Re: Not sure I get it
  It's an interesting study result that goes against a well-worn cliché, hence the reporting here despite the clearly unreliable method of obtaining said result. You don't have to take every post seriously ;)
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Potato Head, 19 Sep 2008 @ 6:59am

I look like
I look like Arnold Schwarzenegger and I am a gamer and a *nix admin.
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- Tony, 19 Sep 2008 @ 8:30am
  
  Re: I look like
  "I look like Arnold Schwarzenegger"
  
  I'm so sorry for you...
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- Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2008 @ 12:15pm
  
  Re: I look like
  Would that be the Arnold Schwarzenegger from the Terminator movies, or the Schwarzenegger of today? If it's today, that's not saying much. XD
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wordup, 19 Sep 2008 @ 7:00am

Well
I am an avid WOW player and I am 7'4" 132 pounds with a supermodel wife, a Jaguar, and 2 square miles of land that just barely contain my 10 story mansion.
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- Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2008 @ 7:13am
  
  Re: Well
  There's no way you're 7'4". Gamers are all short.
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Hoeppner, 19 Sep 2008 @ 7:04am

Actually there have been few studies that showed that thinking about moving a muscle will actually activate some of the growth abilities of it and cause it to burn a handful more calories than it would have. Though both being a pretty small margin when compared to doing a real exercise plan.

If there's one things MMO's are good it it's repeating the same actions over and over and over. Running around back and forth back and forth. So...
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Ima Fish, 19 Sep 2008 @ 7:16am

"Still, it appears that studies are starting to chip away at the stereotype of the overweight, social loner video gamer."

Darn, I guess I spent all that money setting up www.overweight.socialloner.videogamer.com for nothing!
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hegemon13, 19 Sep 2008 @ 7:31am

Age factor
Isn't it also a fact that the video gaming population is on the young end of the spectrum? I know that the market is expanding, age-wise, but it is still heavily weighted toward young males, who are going to be statistically more physically fit than the "average American." Compare them to others in their same demographic, and I think you would get a different result.
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- Shaun Wilson, 19 Sep 2008 @ 7:45am
  
  Re: Age factor
  Isn't it also a fact that the video gaming population is on the young end of the spectrum? I know that the market is expanding, age-wise, but it is still heavily weighted toward young males
  
  Always be warey of well known facts, they have a tendancy to be wrong. I have heard studies putting the average age of the Australian gamer at 28 with something like 80% over 18. Also apparently 8% seniors I believe. Now I know this is Australia not the US but I still think it would be similar. Unless by young you mean 28 years old?
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  - Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2008 @ 8:44am
    
    Re: Re: Age factor
    At 28 you're practically still at your prime. Practically.
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  - hegemon13, 19 Sep 2008 @ 9:22am
    
    Re: Re: Age factor
    Given current average life-span, yes, I think an average of 28 clearly leans toward a younger, more physically fit population.
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mslade, 19 Sep 2008 @ 7:38am

This just in!
A new study suggest that studies may produce results. Although this study makes no mention of the reliability of said results, it's still interesting to think about.
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- Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2008 @ 8:45am
  
  Re: This just in!
  That study has already been debunked.
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justanexer, 19 Sep 2008 @ 7:43am

@Potato Head
Nice, Beat the stereotype. I'm also a *nix admin and an avid gamer (3+ hours a day), run 8km a day, and work out at the gym for a min of an hour a day. I don't look like Arnold but, i sure don't look like a 'sterotypical' nix geek or gamer.
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- Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2008 @ 7:53am
  
  Re: @Potato Head
  but you're not a loner...
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2008 @ 7:54am

I use to be fat and an online gamer, but then I stopped playing, and now I run 4 miles instead of sitting on my formerly fat butt.
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Jim C, 19 Sep 2008 @ 8:04am

games or food
Or they spend all their money and time on games and don't have any left for food or eating.
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- Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2008 @ 11:27am
  
  Re: games or food
  Or they spend all their money and time on games and don't have any left for food or eating.
  
  That would make them malnurished and perhaps skinny and gaunt, not fit.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2008 @ 8:07am

Hmm.
I'm a system admin and an avid gamer, but still make time to hit the gym 6 days a week. Like anything else I do I tend to get sucked in, so I know 6 days a week could be considered excessive. The point I'm trying to make however, is that computer folk, gamers, and the like, do care about being physically fit. Many of my friends who work in this same industry are all about staying healthy, too. :)

Not that this says anything about true statistics though... Haha. Anyway, arrrr, ye be sailing in dangerous waters if ye is not healthy, aye. (...Talk like a pirate day. :))
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- B-TAR, 19 Sep 2008 @ 1:08pm
  
  Re: Hmm.
  ARRRRR! thanks for remembering!
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2008 @ 8:11am

Offline gamers
From the article...
"[S]ince the research only studied one multiplayer online game, its conclusions may not be true for single-player console games. "They involve very different psychologies," he says."

Online gamers are paragons of fitness. But those single-player console gamers, well...they're just a bunch of fat loner slobs.
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Matt Bennett, 19 Sep 2008 @ 8:21am

I didn't see any adjustment for age. MMO gamers are older than most gamers but still younger on avg than the population at large. That probably accounts for most of it. I don't think most MMO gamers are that affluent, either, though they are heavily white and asian.
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- Isaac K (profile), 19 Sep 2008 @ 9:25am
  
  Re:
  I'm calling you out on that one there;
  I find that the MMO player has the same age spread as the average Halo player.
  Unless you want to include seven year old girls playing with their Nintendogs as "gamers"
  
  Most avid gamers now run the gamut of middle-high school to mid-thirties, and I have seen no difference between those who play MMOs and those who don't. I personally fall into the latter group, but have associations with many WoW players and the like.
  
  Again, this is based on my experience, but I don't see how randomly assuming a different age variance counts as an attempt to invalidate the data.
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Kevin, 19 Sep 2008 @ 8:25am

Self-reported = not accurate?
There's also the issue that this appears to be based on self-reported stats, which may not be that accurate.

Their first clue is that 99% of the gamers surveyed were either 17-year old girls with DD-sized breasts and anime eyes, or 25 year old men with blonde hair, blue eyes, and 11-inch penises.
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Charlie, 19 Sep 2008 @ 8:27am

Just think of the consequences of reaching for a potato chip while you're playing.
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- justanexer, 19 Sep 2008 @ 8:34am
  
  Re:
  There's another stereotype.... potato chip eating gamer. Anyone who games knows that taterchips, cheesies, etc. does not go with gaming. Cheesy/Chip fingers == gummy stuck buttoned controller/keyboard/mouse. :P
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  - Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2008 @ 8:47am
    
    Re: Re:
    Correct. Gamers are more likely to each pretzels, peanuts, or booze. Less mess, better gaming.
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    - hegemon13, 19 Sep 2008 @ 9:25am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      And highly caffeinated beverages.
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      - B-TAR, 19 Sep 2008 @ 1:12pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        you cant forget about smoking lots of pot
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J.Holmes, 19 Sep 2008 @ 8:45am

New Study . . .
Frequent gamers have much larger penises then the average American, even the chicks.
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Patient Zero, 19 Sep 2008 @ 10:03am

Overweight?
I'm 39 and an avid gamer.

I workout 4-5 times a week, often more... sometimes twice a day. I eat super healthy - frontload carbs, lots of salads, lean protein and nothing but good carbs except on splurge weekends - and even then I don't go wild... usually. I hold down a great I/S job paying above average for my area. On evenings and weekends, I'm a DJ/Magician/Hypnotist. Plus... I have a girlfriend.

I play FPS and MMORPGs depending on my mood.

I don't think the sterotype is accurate anymore.
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- B-TAR, 19 Sep 2008 @ 1:14pm
  
  Re: Overweight?
  DON'T BELIEVE HIM!!! as he stated hes a magician and a hypnotist. worst of all, he's a liar! he has no woman
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Pro, 19 Sep 2008 @ 10:27am

Yes and No
Individually, it has to do with your habits. When I used to smoke, I'd smoke excessively while I played games. When I used to eat junk food, I'd habitually drink cokes and eat cheez-its while playing. In that case, you're going to get fat.

On the other hand, I can tell you that when I'm playing a FPS online, that I am seriously jacked up and my brain is definitely operating in a high energy state - which I would imagine burns a lot of calories. As a kid I could get away with it, but as an adult, if I still play these games (I occasionally get into one) I have to stop playing at about 10:00 if I want to get to bed by midnight.
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SnobbyFrenchGuy, 19 Sep 2008 @ 10:58am

Ya know . . .
Being more fit then the average american, is a bit like being wealthier then the average Etheopian . . . its all relative.
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- B-TAR, 19 Sep 2008 @ 1:17pm
  
  Re: Ya know . . .
  your point?
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Blizzard, 19 Sep 2008 @ 11:19am

On Line Gamers Not Poor.
On Line Gamers are usually those who have/can afford high end computers and the on line costs of the game as well as having higher levels of education. Not too many welfare people playing on line games except for unemployed university students.

These same people fit into that richer well educated social group that eats better, sees a doctor when they need, and spends time at the gym.

Ergo, generally better off as wells as better off physically.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2008 @ 11:24am

The downside, however, was that the gamers reported more cases of depression and substance abuse than their compatriots.

That is just sad. Also, with an avegage bmi of 25.2 that still places them in the overweight range.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2008 @ 12:01pm

Could it just be that the average gamer is younger than the average American, perhaps an age range that tends to be more physically fit than your average buffet-grazing cattle? How many hard-core gamers do you know that are younger than 14, or older than 30? Those are prime years for active bodies.
- Old, fat, short gamer.
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- justanexer, 19 Sep 2008 @ 12:23pm
  
  Re:
  I'm older than 30 (i'm 37) and the majority of my social network are the same age and we are all hard core gamers. I've read a few reports that put the average age of gamers in the late 20's to early 30's. We have the expendable income for gaming and for myself i have chosen broadband internet and a couple gaming consoles instead of cable tv for my entertainment.
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another mike, 19 Sep 2008 @ 12:27pm

my avatar and me
didn't this same article come out several years ago? anyway, then as now, i started going back to the gym to look more like my WOW avatar. makes LARP'ing more fun when you are fit enough to wear your armor. then i got into zombie MMOs and realized i needed to get fit to avoid shuffling in my mortal coil ;) mmm, zombies.
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- J.Locke, 19 Sep 2008 @ 12:32pm
  
  Re: my avatar and me
  "shuffling in my mortal coil "
  
  hehe clever
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GotSpeed, 20 Sep 2008 @ 10:16pm

this is true
i heard a few days ago that almost 98% of males play video games and almost 90% of females play games

both me and my gf play games (me a fewe more hours aday then her) but we are both well able to run a few miles if need be and go out for walks once or twice a week. i think for the most part online gamers not being able to pause and walk away and get a pizza and keep playing keeps them from eatting all the time due to the game being 10 or 20 or 30 people or more playing. also it being online they end up talking and hanging out online with more people then you could see in a day being more social

the online gamer isnt that geek market it use to be a few years ago now any one with a xbox 360 or ps3 with high speed more then likely plays online if not all the time they spend some time online with friends. come to think about it i cant think of any one i know from 17-35 that doesn't have a xbox or ps3 or a gaming computer. i have a few friends in real life that play ps3 cod a few times aweek with each other online. i have a few teachers at my collage that play cod, orange box, halo games online with students even.
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Nappies, 21 Sep 2008 @ 2:29am

It's mainstream now
Video gaming will soon be as popular as TV so the days when just a certain type of person did this activity are long gone, you just can't generalize anymore.
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