Opinion: Health and Being a Gamer

Health and Being a Gamer

Originally Published and Copyrighted by Blast Away the Game Review on 4/19/2014

Written by Dustin Murphy

 Sometimes we never think about something bigger outside of gaming. We know we sit at our consoles, handhelds, computers, tablets and or even phones for hours on end. Sometimes the entire day, but there's one thing we seem to be forgetting these days. Being healthy in the process. Even with being a gaming journalist, newsie, and of course blogger, health has become something I focus on due to being a rather husky guy. It's something that is always up there with how important running Blast Away the Game Review is. This sometimes means figuring out when it is best to put a workout rotation into my day. Be it for thirty minutes, forty five minutes, one or even two hours a day.

 Why do I bring this up? You may be wondering that. Seeing as how gaming is a big part of the team and my lives. It is something we've decided as a team was important to bring up, especially with obesity hitting the gaming community hard. In this article I'll be breaking down some amazing options that the game developers have actually offered in order to help us gamers get our exercise in so that we may actually lose weight and remain in a decent cardiovascular based health state.

 As I was growing up, games were not always get up, jog in place, flex arms, stretch and or jump. Instead we had alternatives in the means of Dance Dance Revolution, which forced us to get up on our feet, dance to the arrows, and hopefully not look completely goofy while we did it. It was those style games though that helped us get up, move around, and be active. In the light of things, thanks to the Wii, Wii U, XBox 360, XBox One, PlayStation 3 and of course the PlayStation 4, we have new alternatives that can help achieve this.

 On the mentioned consoles, gamers like you and myself, we have many alternatives such as Wii Fit, Dance Masters, Dance Central, Nike + Kinect Training, Your Fitness Evolved Franchise, and many other options. All of these of course requiring you the gamers to get up, move around, and get a bit of exercise in, but does this mean that's all you need to do? With health, we know movement is a big game changer in the fight to be healthy, lose some weight, and maintain some sort of physical activity. However, food is a new issue. As we game, we are known to binge on soda products, which is something unfortunately with being healthy can be difficulty to do. However, there are some amazing choices out there. Personally I've chosen Sparkling Ice as a brand to go to. Why? Instead of getting that crisp soda punch, I was able to find something refreshing, with a crisp flavor that offered a taste that was unique. Something that sodas don't often do.

 The next thing to think of? What you eat. Instead of having candy bars, pizza, and or a huge helping of random foods, find fruits, vegetables, oatmeal bars, that kind of thing. Why? They will help you lose weight by cutting out all the unnecessary foods that we don't need as sedentary gamers. Instead we need to also think of when enough food is enough while we are remaining sedentary, even with a healthy life style.

 Gamers. Now that you have read a few of our tips, what are ones you would recommend to other people? Would you recommend finding a gym, a trainer, and or a work out partner? What foods would you recommend to your fellow gamers in the community? Let us and them know in the comments.