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Playing Pokemon Go may be good for health as the widely popular augmented reality game is making people exercise more, a UK doctor has claimed. According to an article in medical journal The BMJ, the location-based game is not marketed as a health app but gamers do a lot of walking while playing. The popular app has made the streets of Britain a “reclaimed playground to have interconnected fun,” Dr Margaret
McCartney wrote in the article. McCartney noted that a player walked 225 kilometres and lost 12.7 kilograms while moving around to catch Pokemons, suggesting that playing the game may reduce the risk of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, ‘metro.co.uk’ reported. However, McCartney said that users should be careful while playing as there have been instances where emergency services had to rescue players from caves or the sea.
The game should be made safer as playing it has both benefits and risks, she said. “We never hear about the things that did not happen: the heart attacks prevented through more exercise, or the vitamin D deficiency that geeks have avoided, blinking in the sunlight while catching a Pikachu monster,” said McCartney.
