Gamers have long argued that their obsession is sport-like, requiring skill and dexterity to advance levels in complex games and providing players with a demonstrable skill-set from marathon gaming sessions.
However, a recent study including “a series of physical and psychological tests” on gamers prove that while their reflexes are in line with top athletes, they are more physically akin to old people who smoke a lot. Calling the subjects “cyber-sportsmen,” Dr. Dominic Mickelwright of the University of Essex in the UK discussed recent findings with the Telegraph :
The cyber-sportsmen had mental sharpness and psychological traits comparable to ‘real’ athletes, and reacted to visual stimuli almost as fast as fighter jet pilots.
But their fitness levels were shockingly low and comparable to people either much younger or much older than their actual age.
Dr. Micklewright said that one gamer they studied physically resembled an “endurance athlete,” but actually had the “lung function and aerobic fitness of a heavy smoker in his sixties.” And while he conceded that gamers had lower levels of depression similar to those of actual athletes, the lag in physical fitness was pronounced and somewhat dangerous. Micklewright cited childhood obesity and heart disease as possible pitfalls of a heavily sedentary lifestyle.
[via CNET ]
