One of the many intriguing aspects about VR is how it can help people get in shape. Although gaming is often considered to be a very passive experience, things are different in virtual reality. A new study conducted by the Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise shows gaming can be quite intensive. They are also tracking how many calories VR gamers effectively burn during a session. An interesting trend that could make the technology more popular in general.
Proving VR Gaming Has Health Benefits
It is good to see an organization recognize the health benefits of VR gaming. Using a high-end virtual reality headset allows players to utilize their entire body. This means they are moving in directions and shapes they normally wouldn’t. It is evident this give the human body quite the workout session, depending on how intensive the game in question is. Waving arm, moving legs and hips, and somethings legitimate walking side to side all cause people to burn calories. Until now, there is no indication as to how many calories people burn in VR though.
That will come to change, thanks to the Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise. The organization uses dedicated hardware and software to track calories burned during a gaming session. Players who experience proper VR often work up quite the sweat. Tracking the long-term effects of such activity can lead to healthier individuals over time. That is, assuming we know the real impact of VR gaming on the human body.
It is certainly possible to lose weight in VR. Getting the right information to people all over the world may get more people to exercise, even in VR. Any action-packed game will yield better results compared to mini-golf, for obvious reasons.THe Institute uses ratings based on metabolic rate during results from which they derive calorie estimates. Additionally, they compare activity intensity to other activities such as walking and even swimming. That information will be condensed into easily digestible information which allows developers to promote their games accordingly.
This is quite an intriguing development in the world of virtual reality. Right now, the industry is struggling to improve consumer adoption in a significant manner Once the health benefits become available to the public that situation may come to change. It will be interesting to see what type of labels different popular games will get moving forward. It is equally possible we will see more intensive VR games moving forward.
