Pro PC Gamers Have Elderly Chain-Smoker Bodies
A recent study tried to determine if PC gaming could actually be classified as a sport.
A recent study has indicated that professional PC gamers--or rather l33t cyber-athletes who rack in the big bucks--have the reactions of fighter pilots but the bodies of 60-year-old chain smokers. Using a series of physical and psychological tests, the study was conducted to determine if PC gaming could actually be defined as a sport.
Dr. Dominic Micklewright, the University of Essex's head of Sport, Performance, and Fatigue Research Unit, compared cyber-athletes to real-world athletes in various tests. The results showed that the gamers has the mental sharpness and psychological traits comparable to physical athletes, however their fitness levels were "shockingly low."
Case in point: one unnamed professional gamer was in his twenties, and in appearance alone seemed slim and healthy with a physique similar to an endurance athlete. But when the champion gamer was put through physical tests, he wasn't quite as healthy as he appeared, revealing lung functions and aerobic fitness comparable to a chain-smoker in his sixties.
Ouch.
Naturally, Dr. Micklewright blames the amount of time sitting in front of the PC as the culprit behind the gamer's overall health. "Someone of this age should be much fitter, but perhaps this is the occupational hazard of the professional gamer who can spend around 10 hours a day in front of a screen," he said. "It is always difficult to say how these things will develop, but it could have long term health implications such as an increased risk of heart disease."
However despite the physical differences, the doctor was surprised to see that gamers actually shared many characteristics with athletes. These include reaction times, motor skills, competitiveness and emotions. With that said, is PC gaming classified as a sport?
"Gaming shares some characteristics with sport because both are competitive, skill-based and governed by structured rules," he explained. "But the main distinction which precludes gaming from being a sport is the lack of physical exertion. However, in the end sport is socially defined and there are sports, such as snooker and darts, which you might argue are on the boundary. Like video games these require very high levels of skill, but are relatively sedentary and not physically demanding."
Sounds like a borderline yes.
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i think they would be surprised to find out what a day in the sun could do for their self-esteem.
nerds
Sweet, I live less then half a mile away from the University of Essex.
Not particularly surprising results though.
How am I not surprised? And anyway, in one place for 10 hours! That is excessive.
I'm a gamer and a chain-smoker....Am I already dead?
A healthy mind in a rotting body.
This article applies to me, when I come home in the evening I have two options go to the gym and go for a bike ride with a nice book or nice music and get healthy, or sit infront of my gorgeous 23" monitor and play mass effect 2, unfortunately my health has been suffering since I purchased this game.
Just because you sit in front of a screen all day playing games...
...does not mean you can't use your body Physically a Lot.
it is possible to stress your body more in front of a screen than many will in doing "their" physical sport.
It takes a lot of concentration and can be very good for you, done right will give you greater body control than most other sportspeople - due to the pixel point accuracy required while exerting large physical strength in a very balanced coordinated fashion not required to such a level by other sports.
Also helps to develop a very good breathing method helps too -- points that can be applied to other sports also
On the other hand like that unnamed "Pro Gamer" you can just scrape by doing the minimum possible effort to get a desired result...
^^^ Sorry mate, in no way shape or form will sitting in front of a screen, moving your fingers around stress your body more than doing physical sport!
Well you made me laugh for sure!
well, you clearly didn't get what I was saying then...
well, you clearly didn't get what I was saying then...
Neither did I.
well, you clearly didn't get what I was saying then...
Neither did I.
look at the name "pailin" think of a real world idiot who talks rubbish
well, good luck to you all then.
I wish you the very best =)
well, you clearly didn't get what I was saying then...
Neither did I.
^This, is retarded, not just a little bit but full blown grade A+ retarded.
I'm guessing you've not done any real excercise in your entire life if you truly believe it's physically possible to perfom the same actions in front of a monitor while seated as when jogging/cycling/swimming/spending time at the gym.
I never said same actions...
can you not tense a muscle to different degrees without moving it?
then apply a fluid balance to the different mounts of tension you choose to apply - allowing fluid accurate skilled playing of the game despite this while also concentrating on good deep breathing cycle.
it is not as easy as it sounds.
it is possible to attain a greater level of musculature control, strength and accuracy than in another "more active" sport where less concentration and effort is applied.
you can be very lazy in you cycling and running and can work Much harder at what I have described...
equally you can work harder at these more active sports - but this kind of effort is almost unheard of... and many would consider such efforts in such sports to even be counter productive performance in such sports.
But behind your screen could make the difference between being young and fit or like a 60 year old chain smoker...
^ Think I'd rather just go to the Gym.
good call ^^
more chance of meeting someone beautiful there too
Pailin, please please please just give up!!
"it is possible to attain a greater level of musculature control, strength and accuracy than in another "more active" sport where less concentration and effort is applied." - HUH???!!!!!!
I go to the gym 3-4 times a week and I game regularly, In case your having trouble working it out for yourself let me re-iterate - sitting in front of a monitor for 10 hours a day 'tensing' your muscles does NOT stress your body more than doing physical sport, which is what you initially claimed.
physical exercise increases heart rate, and strengthens your entire cardiovascular system, growing new blood vessels to feed your muscles. lifting weights causes tiny tears in the muscle fibres which, when they repair, enlarges the muscle over time. Your entire well being is improved.
Under NO circumstances can these effects be achieved by sitting, staring at a monitor all day.
Lazy cycling or running is vastly superior exercise than concentrating on tensing your muscles while slumped in a chair, come on, it's common sense, every other poster here can see that!
There is nothing to give up on really.
if you don't want to see what I tried to describe then that is your thing. There is something there for those who might be interested.
I have talked about working Much harder than going to the gym and just "doing" exercise in a regular fashion. This takes a Great deal more concentration and effort than just going to the gym, cycling or running which are great and I Love them and do them too
I understand very well what kind of work out my body gets going to the gym and what I can get from what I have described - including heart rates.
If you can take on what I have talked about you will be able to greatly improve yourself in pretty much every sport - something this can be applied to too.
I Think of information as an opportunity rather than a challenge of something to rub into the dirt
sure, there is also a certain skill of being able to sieve through the garbage... of which this could or might not be
It needs no more elaborating or defending, I only hope someone gains something good from it
have a nice day
^ Seems a bit cultish to me.
Wow, Pailin is batshit insane.
can you not tense a muscle to different degrees without moving it?then apply a fluid balance to the different mounts of tension you choose to apply - allowing fluid accurate skilled playing of the game despite this while also concentrating on good deep breathing cycle.it is not as easy as it sounds.it is possible to attain a greater level of musculature control, strength and accuracy than in another "more active" sport
Holy shit you're really serious.
You actually have no understanding whatsoever of fitness and health, let alone exercise and muscle use.
Feel free to keep believing you can obtain fitness behind your monitor tensing up your flabby, undernourished limbs. I'm sure you'll reach the peak of physical perfection before you die of being morbidly obese.
good at insulting, but cannot read what I wrote yet...
I clearly talked about putting in More physical effort than most put into their normal sports and more concentration into their musculature control and breathing methods...
But like I said, I tried to bring something positive here that may help a lot of people - but is so easy to jump on the bandwagon and shoot the guy down in flames saying something new.
Good luck folks, sounds like some of you will really need it - or get down the gym now and then hey ~_^
But like I said, I tried to bring something positive here that may help a lot of people
What you brought along was a rediculous idea with no serious logic behind it whatsoever which would only serve to mislead (to put it bluntly) stupid people.
You're like one of those adverts which claim "I LOST 20 STONE IN 2 WEEKS WITH NO DIETING". Shit does not work that way.
Its seems I missed the debate, intially I thought Pailin was refering to the process of violating one's self infront the computer screen to pr0n (sorry even then it wouldn't be that much of a workout)
If the human body is not physically exerted it will deteriorate and also regardless if you have the best and most comfy chair with excellent lumbar support prolonged periods in the same position just can't be good for your back, trust me we have fights over this at work and I would rather provide IT support at a persons desk than remotely, because I get a chance to move and stretch my back and more importantly interact with the rest of the world from somewhere other than my computer screen.
@ Pailin
I see were you are going with breathing regulation and concentration exercises almost like yoga which can have an impact on health, however I feel these would be difficult to do if you using the pc at the same time gaming or doing anything that requires concentration of its own.
I have been using Windows 7 voice recognition software and have been impressed in the near future I would love to see a pair of glasses which have a display on them so you could be at the gym and still have access to the net using voice commands or hand gestures and at the same time ride a bike or jog or at home doing chores or cooking. I like the idea of tablet pc's as I think we should try to move away from the typical desktop seated environment. I also love wireless noise cancelling headphones on my way home sometimes the train is filled with dumb loud idiot kids and this cancels them out and brings infinite joy into my life whoever designed them deserves a medal.