Is wargaming the most unhealthy hobby around?

[Bezzo]

We spend endless hours in indoor sedentary activities....painting, modelling, researching and reading.

The unhealthy impact on gamers was brought home to me very visibly at a recent show. I shall not say where, and I have blanked out faces to maintain confidentiality but this montage is NOT a good advert for the long term future of gaming. It has been said the hobby is dying and that observation may be literal as well as figurative. I certainly try to exercise more since returning home, leaving the car on the drive and walking to the village. Has anyone noticed the issue?

[image removed]

[Vintage Wargaming]

Catching the javelin and heading the shot might be more dangerous

[nic-e]

It's like anything, you need to do it in moderation. Sure, have a day painting with tea hooked into your veins, but maybe go for a walk, have a bike ride ect to balance it and you'll be fine. 

The issue comes when to consider wargaming to be a vigorous counter to playing xbox.

[grant]

There's a famous Reddit thread dedicated to Magic tournament asscracks from morbidly obese players. A not too thin neckbeard created it - he was banned from the tournaments for some time. Imagine how many heart attacks happened during his off time.

Edit - thread:  https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/202wd3/i_participated_in_one_of_the_biggest_magic_the?

This is a sedentary hobby, but so is tv, movies, Xbox.

I don't watch much tv, I play movies while I paint, and I sold all my video game equipment some years ago. Surfing forums like this is the next most sedentary thing I do.

I do the step goal thing. 8-10000 a day, and 6-8km walked. Hit it most days.


Could still use a few pounds off though.

[Cubs]

Depends how long you spend doing it. I myself dedicate two evenings a week to rugby training, one evening to the gym and each Saturday to playing rugby. Okay, I'm a prop, so there's a little spare flesh here and there, but I'm as healthy as a (middle aged) horse.

[tin shed gamer]

I think a more concerning aspect is the concentration of individuals with an allergy to soap.No show at 10.30am in February should smell like gym locker room in high summer which has been buried in an avalanche of mil due .
The truth is I don't exercise half as much as I did four years ago,Going to the gym these days I'd be quite happy if they classed my fitness level as clinically dead. But at least my bitch bag I carry around shows has a can of deodorant in it.
Mark.

[FramFramson]

It's one of those chicken-and-egg questions, I find. Does the hobby encourage bad behaviour or did it attract people who were already trending that way? It's really not just wargaming in any case, it's gaming in more general terms - the stereotype of the morbidly obese fanboy is hardly limited to the tin soldiers crowd.

@ Grant, as a no-good wastrel and MTG player, I'm well-aware of ass-crack-man and the endless arguments he engendered. *groan*

[nic-e]

A rather portly fellow from our local store was on the tv show "first dates " last year. He apparently did quite well, but my friends and i were very confused considering we can't stand to be in a shop with him due to the frankly AWESOME smell (awesome in the religious sense, in that one is left in awe when confronted by it.)

[harleyface]

When im painting i have no hand free for smoking....

[Gibby]

A person's fitness and weight management shouldn't depend on their hobby being active. Sadly it does seem that many folk do go to wargames shows without having a shower first...

[dadlamassu]

I've also noticed the increasing girth of the gamers at conventions.  Also the increasing number who have backpacks.  I doubt that the two are necessarily related though a rucksack does hold a lot of Mars bars and cans of Coca-Cola! 

On the few days I manage to spend on the hobby I break the day into sessions by walking the dog.

[Tactalvanic]

Sadly being diabetic I cannot overindulge in the choccies and cake myself.

Darts used to be notorious for the rotundness of its players. It was a staple for comedy sketch shows. It seems to now have competitors that look a lot fitter than their predecessors. Perhaps wargaming will follow suit?

This - I  have the diabetic restrictions also - such is life - not due to wargaming or weight issues..

Darts - still has rotund players in it.

[Westfalia Chris]

Allright, I've watched this thread from the start, and since it has a certain validity, I decided to leave it open for the time being. That said, I do not appreciate making fun of people, even anonymously, and have removed the OP image since it serves no proper purpose except illustrative, and is touchy from a privacy PoV.

Furthermore, some posts are veering close towards off-topic. Please keep this strictly on-topic and non-inflammatory, or we'll have to reconsider our decision.

[frogimus]

I am celiac (gluten intolerance) so that removes most grains from my diet.  I am a caregiver for my parents, one of which is diabetic. This means I hardy ever ingest carbs. That, plus my fairly active job keeps me at a decent BMI.

OTOH, I hate sunlight so I probably do not get a healthy amount of sun exposure.

I do see the weight and cleanliness issues in gaming venues, but I see just as much at sporting events or other muggle venues.

IMO, sedentary lifestyles are pretty common everywhere and not tied so much to our niche hobby.

[Legion1963]

Indeed. If my lifestyle is un-healthy it is not because of my gaming hobby. Over the course of several weeks or months i tend to build up to a period of gaming-hobby-creativity and then it is released in a quite intense stream of painting and terrain building and various other hobby related stuff like reading. When that sort peters out i will shift my focus to other stuff i like .... survival and outdoors pursuits are two of them. Usually winter time is mostly reserved for the gaming hobby and summers i spent mostly outdoors. Besides i do not have a car so i am quite active with walking and biking. On top of that i have fairly healthy and sober lifestyle to begin with. ;-)