New pocket monsters in Niantic's location-based mobile game.
Categories

Heart study says Pokémon Go makes you twice as likely to walk 10,000 daily steps

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 3 min

A research study shows that people who play Pokémon Go are twice as likely to reach the 10,000-steps-per-day recommendation for physical exercise.

Playing the popular smartphone game from Niantic Labs may increase people’s daily steps, especially among young adults with low physical activity levels or those who are overweight or obese, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention / Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health 2017 Scientific Sessions.

Unlock premium content and VIP community perks with GB M A X! Join now to enjoy our free and premium perks. 

Join now →

Sign in to your account.

Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.