Team Power: The Health Impact of Joining an Esports Squad

Gamers sit too much and are too little physically active, causing health issues such as pain, injuries, and increased all-cause mortality. But is this true for all gamers, or does being on a team make them more aware of these issues and take appropriate measures? Here's a study answering this question.

"In 2021, it was estimated that 226.6 million Americans played video games at least once per week; and more than half of this population averaged over 7 hr of video game play per week." [1]

Similar to us, the casual gamers at home, playing professionally is now at a level where schools and universities have official esports teams and clubs. Even big organizations such as the National Basketball Association (NBA), Bayern Munich, and others have affiliated esports teams.

However, in contrast to traditional sports, gaming takes place in a sitting position, raising concerns about the health of every gamer. And as highlighted in last week's episode, the average gamer's habits (sitting a lot and little to no exercise) can cause injuries, pain, and more. Studies have shown that such behaviors are associated with cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality.

A problem, however, is that many studies within the realm of gaming and esports that examine the health status and health habits of gamers do not distinguish between casual and professional players. One could assume that professional players, who often have a staff behind them, are more aware of their habits and take appropriate measures. For example, studies have shown that professional players exercise more, especially within the top 10% of a league.

"The purpose of this study was to compare physical activity and sedentary behavior between esports athletes on a team or club and similarly experienced casual gamers..." [1]

The researchers assumed that players who are part of a team or club will be more physically active and less sedentary. To find out, they surveyed 360 players (172 of them women). Based on the data, they also calculated the metabolic equivalent (MET), which is basically the total amount of energy expended during physical activity.

🚶Walk Like It Matters

57.1% of the players surveyed in the US were members of esports teams. As expected, there were more male players. However, there was a difference between casuals and esports athletes. As you can see in the table below, there is a bigger gap between the casual and professional realm between the sexes (182 and 122 vs. 178 and 50).

To me, that's a bit surprising, but maybe that's "just" a skewed sample.

"...esports athletes on a team or club reported significantly fewer weekly minutes of sitting... [The difference is actually quite big:] 1,860 ± 1,480 min sitting for esports athletes on a team or club vs. 2,451 ± 1,665 min sitting for casual gamers. [1]

The researcher also found that esports athletes:

• spent more time walking (396 ± 344 min vs. 254 ± 308 min),
• have a more moderate amount of physical activity per week (373 ± 348 min vs. 162 ± 233 min), and
• engage in more vigorous physical activities (363 ± 360 min vs. 157 ± 223 min).

Interestingly, women on a team or club spent significantly more time per week on vigorous physical activities compared to their casual counterparts. If we look at the energy spent per week from physical exercises, the picture becomes quite clear (see the table below).

🥡 The Takeaways

What's the takeaway? Well, you probably already know: stand up and move your body! Get a cup of tea between games, stretch a bit while queuing up again, or take a walk after a devastating loss or after completely stomping the enemy team. This will also have additional positive effects.

Get up now! ... see you next week. 😉

Christian 🙂

References

[1] Dowdell et al., 2023