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Does Pokémon GO increase leisure-time physical activity according to World Health Organization physical activity guidelines?

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Abstract

Purpose

Although studies have demonstrated that Pokémon GO (PG) can increase physical activity (PA) and reduce users’ sitting time (ST), few studies have indicated whether changes in users’ activity levels satisfy the main criteria for PA. In this study, we determined whether the walking time, leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), and ST of players with different levels of involvement in the game and nonplayers are consistent with PA guidelines to identify factors associated with users walking during their leisure time.

Methods

A cross-sectional online questionnaire developed with reference to the World Health Organization (WHO) PA guidelines was distributed to Taiwanese citizens aged 18–64 years. A total of 1070 participants provided valid responses; 520 (48.6%) were classified as “players,” and 550 (51.4%) were classified as “nonplayers.” A chi-squared test was performed to identify differences between the groups with respect to the WHO PA guidelines. Binary logistic regression was performed to determine the association between PG behaviors and leisure time spent walking for at least 150 min per week.

Results

Compared with nonplayers, players went on more walks (p = 0.037) and had longer ST (p = 0.003) but did not have higher LTPA or more moderate to vigorous PA. The duration and number of days spent playing PG per week as well as the coplayers affected whether the players achieved 150 min of leisure-time walking.

Conclusion

The results indicated that PG can increase PA and reduce ST. However, most players do not meet the amount recommended by the WHO guidelines.

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Availability of data and material

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Hsin-Hung Ho, upon reasonable request.

Code availability

The data of this study were collected by questionnaire and analysis by SPSS, SAS. There is no relation with sharing original code.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the participants for their contributions. They also thank their colleagues from National Taiwan University and statistical programmer Tsun-Hao Ko, whose expertise and insights greatly assisted the completion of this manuscript.

Funding

This work was not supported by grants from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or nonprofit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Physical Education, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan City, Taiwan

    I.-Yao Fang & Pei-Hsin Fang

  2. Center of General Education, Chung Hua University, Hsinchu City, Taiwan

    Ya-Chen Liu

  3. Institute of Physical Education, Health and Leisure Studies, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan

    Hsueh-Wen Chow

  4. Department of Senior Welfare and Services, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan City, Taiwan

    Pin-Chun Chao

  5. Center of General Education, Nursing and Management, Mackay Junior College of Medicine, Taipei City, Taiwan

    Hsin-Hung Ho

Authors
  1. I.-Yao Fang
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  2. Ya-Chen Liu
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  4. Hsueh-Wen Chow
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Contributions

Conceptualization, IYF, YCL, and PHF; Data curation, HHH and CHW; formal analysis, IYF; investigation, HHH, IYF, and PCC; methodology, YCL, IYF, HHH, and CHW; writing of the original draft, IYF and PHF; and draft review and editing, HHH, IYF, and PCC.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hsin-Hung Ho.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare, financial or otherwise.

Ethical approval

This study has applied for and passed the University of Taipei Institutional Review Board Certificate of Approval(IRB-2018-023) to comply with the norms of the Declaration of Helsinki, and we are eligible for "exemption from review".

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Not Applicable.

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Fang, IY., Liu, YC., Fang, PH. et al. Does Pokémon GO increase leisure-time physical activity according to World Health Organization physical activity guidelines?. Sport Sci Health 19, 167–175 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-022-01016-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-022-01016-w

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