Demographics and Health Behavior of Video Game and eSports Players in Germany: The eSports Study 2019

Abstract

The number of video game and eSports players is steadily rising. Since little is known about their health behavior to date, the present study examines the demographics and health behavior of video game and eSports players. In this cross-sectional study, data on demographics, health status, physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and video game usage were assessed via a web-based survey of n = 1066 players (91.9% male; 22.9 ± 5.9 years; body mass index (BMI): 24.6 ± 4.8 kg/m²) in Germany in 2018. The majority of respondents (95%) reported a good to excellent health status. Two thirds (66.9%) engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity for more than 2.5 h/week. The average duration of sitting and sleep time was 7.7 ± 3.6 h/day and 7.1 ± 1.3 h/day, respectively. Mean fruit and vegetable consumption was 2.7 ± 1.8 portions/day. Video games were played for 24.4 ± 15.9 h/week on average. Partial Spearman correlations revealed poor positive associations of video game play time to sedentary behavior (rho = 0.15; p < 0.01) and BMI (rho = 0.11; p < 0.01), as well as a poor negative association to self-reported health status (rho = −0.14; p < 0.01). These results indicate the good subjective health of this target group. Nevertheless, the high amount of video game play time and its poor negative association to health status indicate a need for specific health promotion strategies for this target group.

The Association between Esports Participation, Health and Physical Activity Behaviour

“…This is the first study to examine the BMI status of a global sample of esports players. A previous study [ 7 ] has examined the demographics of esports players including BMI in Germany. However, previous research did not report the difference between esports players and general populations.…”

“…However, previous research did not report the difference between esports players and general populations. Research [ 7 ] has shown that esports players mean BMI ranged between 23.1 and 26 kg/m 2 . This would indicate that esports players generally are a healthy weight or marginally pre-obese.…”

“…Despite increased screen time being linked to increased rates of obesity, the link between video gaming and obesity has not been strongly established [ 4 ]. Previous research on the health and weight status of esports players has indicated the need for health-promotion strategies for esports players, due to the relationship between sedentary lifestyles and poor health of esports players [ 7 ].…”

“…Limited research has investigated the relationship between esports participation and BMI. Only one study [ 7 ] has directly examined esports BMI status, and found that the average esports players BMI in Germany was classed as normal weight. Further research is required to understand what BMI esports players have globally and how esports players compare to population reference data.…”

“…The association between general health and video games has received extensive attention in the academic literature [ 20 , 21 , 22 ], whereas the association between esports participation and general health has not [ 7 ]. Often in video gaming studies, general health is measured through a combination of physical, mental, and/or social health factors [ 21 , 23 ].…”