Gamers fitter than average

What mental picture do you get when you think of dedicated video game players? What about when you think about addicts of online fantasy role-playing games, the group so bitingly satirized by a recent South Park episode?

GAMERS IN SOUTH PARK

If you're like most Americans, you're probably imagining an overweight, pasty-faced, teenaged male guzzling Cheetos and Mountain Dew in his parents' basement, his face lit only by the eerie glow of his expensive, wide-screen monitor. But the findings of a new survey indicate the truth is rather different.

The study, which focused on players of the popular online role-playing game Everquest 2, found that the average player reported taking vigorous exercise once or twice a week, and their self-reported height and weight statistics put players 10% leaner than national averages. Although that's still considered overweight, it's a lot healthier than the majority of Americans, as broader surveys with comparable methodologies estimate.

Everquest 2 players aren't uniformly better off, though. The survey also found players were one-fifth more likely to report substance abuse issues than an average American, and 50% more likely to have been diagnosed with depression.

The South California University survey also threw up another stereotype-busting factoid: although male players outnumber women four-to-one, it's the women who log more hours, and the difference increases with the age of the players. In other words, if you're looking for a typical, highly committed online role-playing game addict, you might need to hunt for a 31-year-old woman, and who knows, you might even find her at the gym.

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