Pokemon Go took the world by storm when it came out last year. The game’s health benefits were touted as well since it got players up on their feet and rewarded them for venturing out to hunt for the little monsters. However, if a new study published in the British Medical Journal is believed, the health benefits of Pokemon Go were shortlived.
The study published in the British Medical Journal found that the popular augmented reality game only had a temporary impact on the health and fitness levels of players.
This study was conducted during a period of six weeks after the game was released in July last year. It covered 1,000 individuals aged between 18 and 35 who played the game religiously after its release.
The results show that the game initially helped players increase their physical activity level dramatically, however, after a couple of weeks had passed, the players were back to the fitness level they were at when they started playing the game.
“So yes, it worked for the first week, but then after a month and a half, people were not walking more or moving more,” explains Jean-Philippe Chaput, a research scientist at the Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
Chaput isn’t surprised that Pokemon Go didn’t leave a lasting impact on the players’ health so maybe take those health claims attached to playing this game with a grain of salt.