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Pokémon Go confers greater likelihood of reaching 10,000 daily steps
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Playing Pokémon Go was associated with elevated physical activity, and was linked to an increased likelihood of achieving 10,000 daily steps, according to findings presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions.
“We wanted to determine if Pokémon Go can provide an enjoyable way to engage people in regular physical activity,” Hanzhang Xu, MS, graduate student from Duke University School of Nursing, said in a press release. “Our findings suggest that active-play games, such as Pokémon Go, may encourage people who live sedentary lifestyles, who otherwise may not participate in traditional forms of exercise, to increase their physical activity.”
Researchers studied 167 iPhone users (mean age, 26 years) who downloaded and played Pokémon Go, a location-based augmented reality game, in July 2016.
Daily steps were recorded from June 15 to July 31 using a series of screenshots taken by participants in their iPhone Health app.
Xu and colleagues used average daily steps and percent of days > 10,000 steps per day before and after playing Pokémon Go as primary outcome measures.
The daily step average before participants played Pokémon Go was 5,678 ± 2,833 (median, 5,718; interquartile range, 3,675-7,279). The average number of steps increased to 7,654 ± 3,616 (median, 7,232; interquartile range, 5,041-9,744) when participants began using the app.
There was an average increase of 1,976 daily steps among the cohort (95% CI, 1,494-2,458; P < .001).
A daily goal of 10,000 steps was also more likely reached by 27.5% of participants after they began to use the app vs. 15.3% before (OR = 2.06; 95% CI, 1.7-2.5).
A subgroup analysis showed that there was a significant increase in physical activity after Pokémon Go.
Participants who had the largest increase after they started using the app were those who spent more time playing the app (2 to 2.5 hours per day = 2,861 more steps; 95% CI, 1,884-3,837; more than 2.5 hours per day = 2,238 more steps; 95% CI, 1,008-3,467), were overweight or obese (3,031 more steps; 95% CI, 2,132-3,929) or had a lower baseline physical activity level (lowest quartile = 2,899 more steps; 95% CI, 2,030-3,767).
“Considering the low level of physical activity in the United States, doing some physical activity is always better than sitting on the couch,” Xu said in the release. “While current physical activity guidelines recommend activity such as running or swimming to promote health and fitness, it should be noted that the best form of physical activity is the one that people will do. We think our study could have implications for the design of other digital health interventions that encourage people to exercise more.” – by Dave Quaile
Reference:
Xu H, et al. Presentation 2. Presented at: Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions; March 7-10, 2017; Portland, Ore.
Disclosure: Xu reports no relevant financial disclosures.
Perspective
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John P. Higgins, MD, MBA
Motivating a person, whether through intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, to change behavior is not easy. So, when something comes along that can motivate one to exercise more each day, health care providers like me take note, and we generally favor such approaches.
For younger adults between 20 and 32 years old, Pokémon Go, an app that requires the player to travel around an area, preferably walking or running to capture animated creatures, may be the perfect prescription.
In this study by Xu et al from Duke University, involving 167 adults averaged 26 years old, whose step counts were monitored before and while using Pokémon Go, daily step counts increased on average by 1,976 steps. The gains were greatest in those who were overweight (3,031 more steps per day), and in those with the lowest baseline physical activity level (2,899 more steps per day). This echoes other studies which have confirmed that Pokémon Go leads to increased activity levels in young adults and children (Wong FY. Int J Health Geogr. 2017;doi:10.1186/s12942-017-0080-1; Althoff T, et al. J Med Internet Res. 2016;doi:10.2196/jmir.6759.)
Some people, motivated by a weight loss goal or better medical conditions, can reach their target exercise levels. Others prefer external help, be it a personal trainer, buddy, or an app. Apps with performance feedback-based feature for beginner exercisers include MapMyFitness, Fitbit, 7 Minute Workout and Sworkit. For the more advanced exercisers there are apps like Nike+ Running, Runtastic, Strava Running and Cycling and RunKeeper. For those who find exercise boring, a fantasy- or game-based app is the best, eg, Zombies Run!, The Walk, 7 Minute Superhero Workout and Pokémon Go.
The scant literature seems to find intrinsic motivation is similar among users of various apps (Gillman AS, Bryan AD. Ann Behav Med. 2016;doi:10.1007/s12160-015-9730-3). But fantasy- or game-based apps could provide extrinsic motivation and seem most important in the first 6 months of developing an individual’s exercise habit.
In conclusion, for inactive, overweight and unmotivated younger people, fantasy- or game-based exercise apps like Pokémon Go may be a reasonable motivator to increase their activity levels. Not only can game apps be fun and physically beneficial, but also, gamers might build friendships and relationships that improve wellbeing as well.
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. Perhaps catching a Pokémon is worth 1,000 steps.
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