Unless you live under a particularly dense rock, you'll have no doubt heard about the new, unprecedented phenomenon taking over the globe (and our lives...); Niantic's smash hit mobile game, Pokemon Go.
If you were a fan of Pokemon on Nintendo back in the day, you might have paused for a second when the game was announced, but perhaps didn't think too much of it. There have been plenty of incarnations of the classic games over the years, mainly following a similar format; explore, catch Pokemon, beat gyms and, of course, catch 'em all. This game feels like the most different thing we've seen from the franchise - rather than pressing your buttons to go exploring, you actually have to GO exploring i.e. physically walk around in order to navigate, collect experience points and, of course... catch 'em all. That part hasn't changed. That's Pokemon training numero uno.
As far as I'm concerned, this is groundbreaking stuff; they're secretly getting us to exercise. And it's actually, properly fun. I am so lazy. Not being self-deprecating, I really just hate exercise. Half the things I try I'm not allowed to do again because I have the spine of a 90-year-old woman, and anything else is just kind of boring. What I can easily do is go for lovely long walks - but the frequency at which I actually do this is, well, difficult to measure. As it happens so little. Enter Pokemon Go; I had plans for dinner on Wednesday night and as I citymapper-ed the route I decided that I quite fancied the hour and 15 minute walk more than a quick bus ride. Imagine all the pokestops you could visit on a walk that long...
You might not be a Pokemon fan, historically or in principle, and you might be one of the people who scoff at grown adults wandering around capturing imaginary creatures. But honestly, it's super addictive and really fun - and it's going to be good for health. Clinic Compare (have done some number crunching and figured out that for the average player, who is apparently walking 43 minutes per day, catching 22 Pokemon, the increased activity works out to a lost pound every 13.75 days for a man, or 16.27 days for a woman. If you're an obsessed Pokemon trainer, catching more like 100 Pokemon per day, you could lose one pound in as little as 3.5 days.
Pfft, who's catching 100 Pokemon a day? I hear you cry. But people are! However you feel about the game itself, it's getting a LOT of people off their sofas and on their feet. I don't know if I was the prime target for this new fitness regimen but it's definitely working on me. Whether you're likely to stay in due to lack of motivation, or something more clinical such as depression, having a fun reason to get up and wander to your local park is a great thing. Studies show being out in nature makes people happier. Imagine how happy we'll all be when our real nature is also dotted with Ponyta and Pikachu... Lord knows we all need a smile right now.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.