The following graph shows the step data from Jawbone US users who tagged “Pokimon” in their comments. As you can see, their step count spiked dramatically the weekend after the game was released. The data does all the talking. Although it may currently be at its peak of popularity following its release, Pokemon Go has undoubtedly increased activity levels in our otherwise sedentary population. Could virtual reality games be the future of exercise for the general population? I would not be surprised to see more games released in the near future that are similar to this one. There have been numerous initiatives put in place in an effort to rid America of its obesity epidemic in the past few years, including Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign and the introduction of more fitness trackers, such as FitBit and MyFitnessPal. Whether it was intentional or not, Pok mon Go has had a positive impact on our activity levels so far. A Pokestep
More than one in three adults in the United States are reported to be obese (2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey). We’ve all heard this statistic or something very similar. It’s intended to startle us. At this point, however, we’re all so desensitized to the facts that we don’t even think twice about it. Obesity refers to a Body Mass Index greater than 30. If we don’t know our BMI, we assume these statistics aren’t talking about us. We picture obese people to be like those featured in My 600-lb. Life, who need assistance carrying out the simplest of daily tasks, such as using the bathroom and washing themselves. One woman featured on the show had a BMI of 85.7, putting her in the category labeled “extreme obesity” (BMI above 40). As you can see, the subjects of “My 600-lb. Life” are not what we should picture when thinking of those statistics. Realistically, we should be picturing our family, our friends, and maybe even ourselves. The truth of the matter is: our country is obese and we’re only getting fatter.
Since its July 6th release, Pok mon Go has been giving our sedentary population a reason to move. The name of the game is simple: capture as many Pok mon as possible. The further and faster you travel on foot, bike, or even scooter, the more opportunities you’ll have to capture them. Additionally, players can collect medals and prizes for walking certain distances. As one would expect, this means that gamers are walking more.
The next graph shows the percent of Apple Watch users who exercised for at least 30 minutes, as analyzed by Cardiogram. Again, there is a drastic spike in activity since the game’s July 6th release. Cardiogram’s co-founder even stated, “The uptick in exercise is pretty similar to the one we see for New Year’s Resolutions”.
A Pokestep in the Right Direction by Riley Rogers
[This is a guest blog from Riley Rogers. Riley is a Exercise and Sport Science major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is an Athletic Development Intern at Athletic Lab.]
Gotta Catch ‘Em All
In the past week or so, our news feeds have been filled with headlines that read Teen Playing Pok mon Go Walks Onto Highway And Gets Hit By A Car, While searching for Pokemon Wyoming woman finds man’s body, and Pok mon Go: man quits job to become full-time Pok mon hunter . If you’ve resisted the urge to click on these enticing headlines, I’ll fill you in.
Pok mon Go is a newly released location-based game that is played right on your smartphone. The screen shows your actual surroundings, in which one of the 151 Pok mon characters that the player must capture, appears. The areas that you visit to capture these “Pocket Monsters,” as well as random surprise items such as eggs and Pokeballs, are called Poke stops. Some Poke stops, which are usually local landmarks, include minor league baseball fields and zoos. In order to capture Pok mon, you must get off your couch or your chair and visit the Poke stops to catch ’em all!
In an article featured on The Guardian’s website, Adam Gabbatt and Sam Levin reported on the recent Pok mon Go activity in New York and San Francisco, respectively. They spoke with Dariush Shafa, a 32-year-old marketing specialist from Kentucky, who says he walked 12,000 steps on Sunday in his quest to add more Pokemon to his roster – far more than his usual 3,000?. Similarly, Alain Pierre, a 29-year-old San Francisco resident, says he “lost 3 lbs from all the Pokemon-related exercise”.
I’m beginning to think Nintendo’s newest release was a just a ploy to get us to exercise…
Let’s Look At The Data
In a study done by BuzzFeed News, they asked a few fitness-tracking companies to share data recorded by their technology since Pok mon Go’s release just a week ago.
Finally, Spire, an iOS mindfulness and activity tracker, analyzed their user stats for two time periods: the pre-Pok mon Go and post-Pok mon Go world (I promise I’m not making these terms up). The first graph shows that average weekend activity minutes increased overall by 9% in the post-Pokemon Go world. The second graph breaks up the data into genders and age group. Based on the data, we can see that males younger than 30 had nearly a 25% increase in activity after the release of Pok mon Go, while males over 30, and females of all ages, also had an increase in activity ranging from 3-9%.
Could a video game be the answer to our nation’s ever-increasing obesity rates? Most likely not. Chances are, this game will follow in the footsteps of its predecessors, such as Candy Crush and Farmville, phasing out before the end of the year and sending us back to the comfort of our couches. More importantly, walking more everyday will not make a significant impact on our health. Although it certainly does not hurt, there are other components to healthy living such as nutrition and diet, aerobic exercise, emotional well-being, and overall positive lifestyle choices. Katherine Zeratsky, a registered Dietician for Mayo Clinic, says, “You might be able to lose weight that way, depending on the duration and intensity of your walking and what your diet’s like. But eating fewer calories through dietary changes seems to promote weight loss more effectively than does physical activity”. There you have it. The most recent fad in technology may not be the cure to the obesity epidemic, but it’s a Pokestep in the right direction.
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