Relationship between Esports and Physical activity

Esports are popular and based on the addictive potential of video games they might be more addictive than traditional sports or physical activities. This pilot study gauged the prevalence of addiction risk in Esports players who played at least thrice weekly and its relationship to physical activity habits. Volunteers n=116 (93.1% males; mean age=23.91±4.47) Esports players answered demographic questions about their Esport playing and exercise habits and completed the adapted revised Exercise Addiction Inventory online. Results indicated that theprevalence of risk of Esport addiction was 3.44% (4/116), which is similar to or lower than the risk in traditional physical activities or sports. There was no relationship between Esport and physical activity. Over 70% of the sample exercised thrice weekly for 5 hrs or more. These preliminary results suggest that Esports are less addictive than traditional sports, and their growth may not foster an increase in problematic gaming. Further, more play cannot be linked to less physical activity. Finally, Esports players are physically active, and over two-thirds meet the World Health Organization’s activity recommendations for health.