How do you get 100 Pikachus on a bus? You poke ‘em on! And how do you get 100 million people to do some exercise? You get them to find Pokémon, of course!
Unless you’ve been living in a Poké Ball this past month, you’ve probably heard of Pokémon Go. It’s an augmented reality game that allows players to hunt, battle and train Pokémon.
And you have to work to catch ‘em all. The game makes you physically travel (as in walk, with your actual legs!) to find and catch the little creatures.
The game has been so successful at getting people moving that experts reckon it might ease the burden of lifestyle diseases worldwide, including obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. A bit of an overstatement? Let’s see what the science has to say.
Walking is incredibly good for you.
It’s no secret that lying around like a Snorlax isn’t doing your body any favours. In fact, researchers estimate that every hour of idle sitting shaves 22 minutes off your life. Yikes!
Yet walking can help reverse the effects of our desk-bound, couch-bound lifestyles:
- A meta-analysis from seven countries found that walking is strongly linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart attack and even death.
- Just 30 minutes of brisk walking a day could reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes by 30 per cent (and if you have blood sugar issues, it can help manage them).
- Keeping active throughout the day is linked to reduced risk of 13 types of cancers, including breast and bowel cancer.
It could even be better than vigorous exercise!
You might not even need to “travel across the land, searching far and wide” for the best workout.
Studies are increasingly advocating a gentle approach to exercise. One found that walking briskly for 10 minutes, three times a day was best for lowering blood pressure. Maybe the only gym we need to go now to is the Pokémon Gym!
Walking also helps your mental health.
Yep, studies show that walking does marvelous things for the old noggin – improving memory, concentration and learning. It’s even thought that it may help lower risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s.
As another plus, Pokémon Go is getting people out of the house and running into their fellow trainers. Socialising and exercise make a pretty powerful double-whammy for helping people with mental health issues.
Wanna be the very best?
Like no one ever was? For optimum health, experts recommend getting around 10,000 steps a day – or around 1½ hours of walking.
Don’t have the data or phone battery to play Pokémon Go for that long? Don’t worry! You can easily step up your walking routine. Use a pedometer, walk to and from work, or simply take the stairs. Or read our tips for getting 10,000 steps a day!
Have you noticed an improvement in your health from playing Pokémon Go?
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