Esports player health status and maximal grip strength – A cross sectional study
Mini-Oral Presentation B1.11
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.600Keywords:
eSports, Health, Body Composition, Grip StrengthAbstract
Background: Participation in esports has grown significantly leading to potential concerns regarding the health status of players due to the inherent sedentary nature of playing video games. Purpose: To examine the weight related health status via body mass index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and body composition (BC), as well as maximal grip strength (MGS) in a sample of esport athletes (EA) living in Germany and Switzerland. Methods: To date, the sample consists of 36 male EA (age: 24.2±3.5 years). Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and body composition (BC) using bioimpedance analysis (Tanita RD-545) were assessed. MGS was recorded using a digital hand dynamometer (Saehan DHD-1). Descriptive statistics were compared to established age-matched normative data from the German population. Results: According to BMI, 16.7% (n=6) of the EA were classified as obese, while 16.7% (n=6) and 66.7% (n=24) were classified as overweight and normal weight respectively. Compared to age-matched population data from Germany, the esport players had a higher percentage of obesity (16.7% vs 6.6%) but lower percentage of overweight (16.7% vs 26.0%). From WHtR measurements, 25.0% (n=9) were classified as at an increased health risk while 75% (n=27) were classified as having healthy values. According to body fat percentage, 16.7% (n=6) were over the 25% threshold for overweight. As for MGS, only 15.9% (n=5) had values above their respective age-height matched normative values, with 25% (n=9) of the esport participants being considered "weak" and at an increased risk for health issues. Conclusions: The prevalence of obesity was higher amongst EA compared to values from the general population, however, the prevalence of overweight was much lower, highlighting the diversity of EA health status. Overall, the prevalence of obesity and subaverage MGS suggests EA may be an ideal target group for health promotive efforts. Funding: None.
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Copyright (c) 2021 Alex Bodman, Sascha Ketelhut, Claudia Kubica, Claudio R. Nigg
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