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A new study reveals that professional gamers have the lightning-fast reactions of a fighter pilot but the fitness level of a sixty year-old heavy smoker.
Researchers from the University of Essex made this shock discovery after monitoring these highly-paid cyber-sportsmen in tests at Birmingham’s NEC Arena. In general, the elite players were found to have the mental agility and psychological fortitude of professional athletes, and reaction times to rival all but the best jet fighter pilots.
That’s where the positive comparisons ended, though, as fitness levels were dramatically low. Indeed, they were found to be on a par with either much younger or much older people, with one twenty-something player having the physique of a top level athlete but the lung capacity of a heavy smoker in his sixties. In a word, not good!
Essex University’s Dr. Dominic Micklewright is clear about the principle reason behind this alarming level of non-fitness – too much time spent playing games. Professional gamers typically spend up to ten hours a day in front of screens, leaving little time free to keep in shape. Poor physical condition is thus an “occupational hazard”, says Dr. Micklewright, warning of the longer-term health hazards and risks of heart disease that may follow as a result. Kids are duly cautioned of the same dangers too.
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