A calorie is a unit of energy used to measure the energy content in food and the energy your body expends. The concept of “burning calories” refers to the body converting stored or consumed energy into heat and mechanical work. To understand the energy used during passive activities, like playing video games, it is necessary to look at the baseline energy expenditure the human body requires just to stay alive.
Understanding Calorie Expenditure While Sedentary
The human body constantly burns energy even when completely at rest, a baseline rate known as the Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). RMR represents the energy required for the basic maintenance of life, accounting for the functioning of vital organs, including breathing, circulating blood, and fueling brain activity. For most individuals, this resting metabolism is the largest component of their total daily energy expenditure, typically ranging from 60 to 75%.
Sedentary activities, such as sitting, have an energy cost that is only marginally higher than the RMR. The energy expenditure for common seated activities generally hovers around 1.0 to 1.1 Metabolic Equivalents (METs), where one MET represents the energy cost of sitting quietly. Therefore, a sedentary activity like playing a traditional video game does not significantly increase the body’s energy demand beyond this baseline. For an average person, this baseline burn while sitting is approximately 65 to 85 calories per hour.
Physiological Response and Estimated Calorie Burn
While traditional video gaming is a sedentary activity, the mental engagement can trigger a physiological response that elevates the calorie burn above the RMR. Intense concentration and the need for rapid reaction times, especially in competitive games, activate the body’s sympathetic nervous system. This activation, similar to a low-level “fight-or-flight” response, leads to the temporary release of stress hormones like adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol.
The release of these hormones causes a measurable increase in metabolic activity. Specifically, heart rate and blood pressure show a pronounced elevation during intense gameplay, requiring more energy expenditure from the cardiovascular system. Scientific measurements of oxygen consumption during sedentary gaming have shown that the metabolic rate can increase to a level similar to mild-intensity exercise. This energy increase results from the body becoming more alert and prepared for action, even without physical exertion.
Studies focusing on intense, competitive gaming sessions have shown an estimated calorie burn significantly higher than the sedentary baseline. For example, some research suggests that male gamers can burn around 210 calories per hour, while female gamers may burn up to 236 calories per hour during a two-hour session of games like Call of Duty: Warzone or FIFA. This increase can represent an extra 100 to 150 calories per hour above the RMR, although the exact number varies widely based on the player and the game’s intensity.
Specific Variables That Affect Energy Output
The actual energy output during a video game session is not static but is heavily modulated by external factors and the style of gameplay. The most significant variable is the level of physical movement required by the gaming equipment. Traditional sedentary gaming, which involves minimal movement, shows an energy expenditure comparable to watching television. However, standing while playing a console game, even without motion controls, can burn an extra 5 to 10 calories per hour compared to sitting, as it activates larger muscle groups to maintain posture.
Motion-controlled gaming, such as using Virtual Reality (VR) systems or console peripherals that require whole-body movement, transforms the activity into actual light-to-moderate exercise. Games that require rapid arm movements, dodging, or squatting can elevate the calorie burn to levels comparable to a brisk walk or a low-intensity cardio workout. For instance, certain high-activity VR games can lead to a burn of 420 to 480 calories per hour, a substantial increase over sedentary play.
The genre of the game itself also acts as a modifier on the internal physiological response. High-input, competitive games, such as first-person shooters or sports titles, consistently elicit a greater stress response, leading to a higher heart rate and metabolic spike. Conversely, passive, slow-paced games like puzzle or narrative-driven role-playing games (RPGs) are low-arousal activities that produce minimal change in physiological markers. The presence of competitive pressure, especially in esports or online ranked matches, further amplifies the physiological response, driving the highest non-physical calorie burn estimates.