Physical Activity in Turkish Esports Players: Age Differences Approach

Esports, which is a sport with high cognitive load, is thought to have certain dark side points from a sustainable health perspective due to the prolonged seated position. In this study, the focus has been on addressing the dark points through the physical activity levels and daily gaming durations of Turkish esports players. The research included 373 esports players between the ages of 14-24 residing in different cities of Turkey. The participants were divided into 3 categories: Adolescents (14-16), Late Adolescents (17-19), and Adults (20-24). The participants demographic information, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) data, and daily gaming durations were collected through a web-based survey program. IPAQ and gaming times were separately analyzed using one-way independent measures ANOVA to compare three different age groups (Adolescent, Late Adolescent, and Adult). Results showed that there was a significant effect of age on gaming years, F(2, 370) = 19.84, p .001, ω2 = .09 (medium effect), high-level physical activity F(2, 370) = 3.33, p .05, ω2 = .01 (small effect) and sitting time scores F(2, 370) = 6.15, p .01, ω2 = .02. The study results indicate that as years of e-gaming experience increase, it reveals the risk of professionalization -based sedentary behavior.