Are E-Sports stopping us from good health? Facts and figures here.

This is a tough one.
For many people, a game console has become a necessity. Games are becoming so real and interactive. There are online tournaments and you can play as part of a team. E-sports are big money and they are here to stay.  But are they leading us towards a more sedentary lifestyle - will other sports suffer?

Well wait for this news!!  E-Sport games are now the most played sport in UK Universities - overtaking football for the first time. Honest!!  That is incredible.

There are 685 E-sport teams at 73 universities, compared to 662 football teams, 546 hockey teams, 432 netball teams and 425 rugby union teams. We do not have the actual number of team members - so that may not be higher.

The National Student E-sport people, who compiled these figures, said that 90 per cent of university players were male. "A lot of students with technical skills are getting involved" they added.

The most alarming aspect of gaming is the long hours spend sitting as they are playing.  Studies have shown that sitting for 6 hours a day for 2 consecutive weeks can increase bad cholesterol levels. Muscles actually start to degenerate, preventing blood from getting to the heart and increasing the risk of weight gain and heart disease. After 24 hours of straight sitting (serious gamers do do this), the ability of insulin to absorb glucose actually goes down by nearly 40 per cent, seriously raising the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Professor Ingo frobose at the German Sports University in Cologne led a research team - analysing the bodies of 1200 e-sport gamers. What they found was fascinating.

On average, players coordinate up to 400 movements per minute, showing amazingly fast hand-eye movements. Their heart rate during playing reaches up to 120 to 180 beats per minute, which is almost the stress level of a racking driver.
In addition; "the stress hormone cortisol rises as much as when a footballer shoots a penalty kick in a Champions League Final" and gamers present such intensive fatigue levels after 2 to 3 hours of gaming that it is not worth continuing.

But it is not all negative:
Playing video games for 5 to 10 hours a week stimulates areas in the brain associated with memory, attention, motor and strategic planning skills, as well as eyesight.  In fact, they say that electronic games can help people learn, focus and multitask.

HMHB says:
They are not going away, and will continue to be a fun activity for many years. The design and details are extraordinary. But, as per the research above, it is also important to realise the health risks involved. Everything in moderation. Take regular breaks, get outdoors, put down those controls. In fact, the real world is far more interesting if you come to look at it. There is a time and place for games, but also give yourself the chance of a great life on our amazing planet too.