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How many calories do you burn by gaming?

Betway Insider’s recent gaming experiment brings exciting news to gamers who care about staying fit. Based on the findings... Henrieta | 14. July 2022

Betway Insider’s recent gaming experiment brings exciting news to gamers who care about staying fit. Based on the findings of the betting company, gaming can be compared to doing squats when it comes to burning calories, with Fortnite supposedly being the best “workout game”. 

Usually, the stereotypical lifestyle of a gamer is portrayed as unhealthy, with a lack of exercise, proper nutrition and endless hours spent in front of the screen until early morning hours. While this is clearly a generalization, for many, it is also the reality.

However, according to the experiment conducted by Betway Insider, gaming is not quite the same as just sitting still. In fact, the energy that goes into a good gaming performance can match the amount of calories burnt during a workout. And while the two activities are obviously not the same, on a physical level they might be actually closer than we think. 

Fortnite best for burning calories

The goal of Betway’s experiment was to find out which of the popular video games are the most effective for raising heart rate and burning calories. As a part of the experiment, the gambling site collaborated with 17 gamers who were asked to play seven games, each for 90 minutes. The tested titles included Fortnite, FIFA, Call of Duty: Warzone, Apex Legends, Elden Ring, Minecraft and GTA. 

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Based on Betway’s findings, the best for burning calories is Fortnite, with participants burning 194 calories on average during a 90-minute-log gaming session. The second spot was taken by FIFA with 189 calories burnt on average, followed by Call of Duty with 188 calories and Apex legends with 180 calories. The game that was “the most chill” when it comes to increasing heart rate was GTA with 164 average calories. 

In terms of maximum calories, Betway’s study showed that gamers can burn up to around 538 calories per gaming session. The highest number of calories burned during the study was 580 by playing FIFA, while Fortnite racked up the maximum of 554 calories. Meanwhile, the minimum calories were burned during one of the Apex sessions — only 43. 

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Can gaming equal exercising? 

By measuring the heart rate of participants while doing squats, crunches and pushups, Betway calculated how much exercise they would need to burn an equal amount of calories that they burned whilst gaming. According to its findings, players need to do approximately 353 squats or 162 push-ups or 239 crunches to equal 90 minutes of playing Fortnite.  

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While all of these findings sound amazing, it’s not to be considered good news for gamers, but merely a tool for a better understanding of processes in our body. The human body naturally burns calories to get energy for all of its actions, which besides movement include fundamental processes like metabolism, thinking and breathing. Of course that we’re going to burn more calories by gaming since our heart rate is increased and we need increased brain power and reflexes to execute the perfect strategy. If Betway included the biggest esports titles in its experiment, the results could have been even more impressive. Games such as League of Legends, CS:GO, or Starcraft, where players commonly reach a seemingly inhumane APM, would arguably reach even higher numbers of calories burnt. 

However, even with all the calories that we can possibly burn, gaming does simply not equal exercise and never will, unless it’s a VR game that actually includes movement. Because that’s what differentiates the two — the physical movement that makes our body thrive and prosper.

Image credit: Betway Insider