Thinking as exercise

NorthCascades
NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
From the "you've got to be kidding me" department, here is a story for your amusement. I'm not suggesting you stop doing exercise that makes you happy and healthy to think about math problems, but reading this article will burn 50 calories from rolling your eyes.


In 1984, the World Chess Championship was called off abruptly, due to the worryingly emaciated frame of Anatoly Karpov, an elite Russian player who was competing for the title. Over the preceding five months and dozens of matches, Karpov had lost 22 lbs. (10 kilograms), and competition organizers feared for his health.

Karpov's wasn't alone in experiencing the extreme physical effects of the game. While no chess competitor has experienced such profound weight loss since then, elite players can reportedly burn up to an estimated 6,000 calories in one day — all without moving from their seats, ESPN reported.

https://www.livescience.com/amp/burn-calories-brain.html

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Replies

  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    I heard about that the other day on NPR I want to say. I was both amused and fascinated.
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    As an aside, my dogs got far more tired from training that required them to use their brains than from physical exercise alone. They did not lose weight, though.
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    Well, OK ... But will it count as cardio ??
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 1,992 Member
    you mean I could have just learned chess and could have avoided the 100 lb weight gain!? (oh, missed the part about having to starve yourself!) 😂
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,023 Member
    Looks like a lot of people skipped reading the link, @NorthCascades . . . was this a test? ;)
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    edited December 2019
    Then it must be true what they say... “it’s the thought that counts!” ;)
  • 80sSynthwave
    80sSynthwave Posts: 25 Member
    The brain is the most active organ in our body, and if you think about corticalization (number of folds-more folds the higher the activity/iq) then any thinking sport would burn loads of calories, though it would be hard to quantify as it varies greatly from person to person.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,023 Member
    80sSynthwave wrote: »
    The brain is the most active organ in our body, and if you think about corticalization (number of folds-more folds the higher the activity/iq) then any thinking sport would burn loads of calories, though it would be hard to quantify as it varies greatly from person to person.

    It's been researched. Pretty extensively. An intense thinking activity doesn't really burn many more calories, because your brain is busy all the time anyway (whether you're aware of it or not).
  • jesselee10
    jesselee10 Posts: 31 Member
    I think it has to do more with focusing so much on the game, you forget to eat. My son gets like that when he’s gaming. Gets really intense and adjutated that could burn some calories I suppose.

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