Game changer

It was the global gaming craze of the summer with players taking to the streets to try to catch on-screen monsters like Pikachu and Snorlax in real-world locations. Reports about the possible health benefits of Pokemon Go have until now been largely anecdotal, but new research suggests that playing the augmented reality game significantly increases users' activity levels regardless of their age, sex or weight, and could even extend life expectancy if kept up indefinitely. The study by researchers at Stanford University and Microsoft Research in the US analysed movement data shared by 32,000 users of the wearable device Microsoft Band, and web queries on search engine Bing over a three month period from the date the game launched in the US. Their findings show that the average Pokemon Go player took 192 more steps per day for each of the 30 days after they started playing, rising to 1,473 extra steps being taken by highly engaged players - about 25 percent more than before they started playing the game. The researchers estimate that Pokemon Go has added a total of 144 billion steps to physical activity in the US over the period of their study and that the game has been able to increase physical activity in men and women of all ages, weights, and prior activity levels.