Gamers fitter than average

What mental picture do you get when you think of dedicated video game players? What about when you think about addicts of online fantasy role-playing games, the group so bitingly satirized by a recent South Park episode?

If you're like most Americans, you're probably imagining an overweight, pasty-faced, teenaged male guzzling Cheetos and Mountain Dew in his parents' basement, his face lit only by the eerie glow of his expensive, wide-screen monitor. But the findings of a new survey indicate the truth is rather different.

The study, which focused on players of the popular online role-playing game Everquest 2, found that the average player reported taking vigorous exercise once or twice a week, and their self-reported height and weight statistics put players 10% leaner than national averages. Although that's still considered overweight, it's a lot healthier than the majority of Americans, as broader surveys with comparable methodologies estimate.

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