August 24, 2016 – Pokemon Go

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Anchor lead:  What is the upside to Pokemon Go? Elizabeth Tracey reports

If you’re a parent with children at home or just a video game fan, you know that most of these activities involve a lot of screen time while seated.  Now a new force has been unleased on the world, Redonda Miller, president of Johns Hopkins Hospital, explains.

Miller: Pokemon Go.  A person playing this game is involved in their environment. The way they win points and capture various objects is by going to various areas in their surroundings and doing those activities.  We’ve always talked about video games, our children sitting in front of TVs and being sedentary. This is the antithesis.  In order to play this game you have to get up and move around.  So if we want to increase our weekly METs this is a game that punches that ticket.   :30

Miller notes that Pokemon Go has also been unfortunately associated with an uptick in injuries that occur as a result of screenwalking, where someone is so focused on their smartphone screen they miss curbs or walk into traffic, so she cautions that vigilance is still needed.  At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.