Study: eSports a real physical challengeMumbai, Mar 15(AZINS) Professional-level video game players compete under conditions that are "just as demanding as most other types of sports, if not more," according to an academic study.

Having studied eSports athletes over a five-year period, Professor Ingo Froböse of Germany Sports University, Cologne, says that comparisons can be made to race car drivers and endurance runners.

Cortisol, a stress hormone, is produced to "about the same level as that of a race-car driver," Froböse told Deutche Welle, while pulse rates can reach "160 to 180 beats per minute, which is equivalent to what happens during a very fast run, almost a marathon."

Those two factors, plus the hand-eye coordination and tactical thinking required at pro level, make for conditions which are "just as demanding as most other types of sports, if not more demanding," Froböse said.

As a result, the GSU professor is urging eSports athletes to approach their fitness with the same rigour that they approach mastery of their mouse and keyboard, with diet and physical training reflecting the field's physical demands; those that do could see their professional careers extended by four to five years, DW reports.