--- title: Pokémon Go Makes People Walk 2,000 More Steps description: A new report shows using Pokemon Go helps people be more active and get closer to reaching their goal of 10,000 daily steps. canonical: https://time.com/4695726/pokemon-go-walking-steps/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-13T14:21:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:44:25.292Z article:section: Health og:title: Pokémon Go Makes People Walk 2,000 More Steps og:description: A new report shows using Pokemon Go helps people be more active and get closer to reaching their goal of 10,000 daily steps. og:url: https://time.com/4695726/pokemon-go-walking-steps/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45d6187cda229a60/6988bd9ef887dcb9a3e995d5/pokemon.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Pokemon Go around Paris og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pokémon Go Makes People Walk 2,000 More Steps twitter:description: A new report shows using Pokemon Go helps people be more active and get closer to reaching their goal of 10,000 daily steps. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45d6187cda229a60/6988bd9ef887dcb9a3e995d5/pokemon.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Pokémon Go Makes People Walk 2,000 More Steps ## Video: The World of Pokémon GO has Expanded! [Watch (HLS stream): The World of Pokémon GO has Expanded!](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/wMMP10V4.m3u8) (0:39)  _Published 2017-02-15. Pokemon Go expansion trailer_ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Mar 13, 2017 2:21 PM UTC  PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 08: Kids show the screen of their smartphone with Nintendo Co.'s Pokemon Go augmented-reality game at the Trocadero in front of the Eiffel tower on September 8, 2016 in Paris, France. PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 08: Kids show the screen of their smartphone with Nintendo Co.'s Pokemon Go augmented-reality game at the Trocadero in front of the Eiffel tower on September 8, 2016 in Paris, France.Chesnot—Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Mar 13, 2017 2:21 PM UTC Smartphones are often seen as a cause of sedentary time, not a solution to it. But new research suggests that playing the smartphone game [_Pokémon Go_](http://time.com/4400791/pokemon-go-iphone-android-nintendo/) actually helps people get more [exercise](http://time.com/4474874/exercise-fitness-workouts/). In the game, people actively explore their real-world surroundings to capture in-game creatures that they can use to battle other players. People who play it are more than twice as likely to meet their 10,000-steps goal for the day, according to the new study, presented recently at an [American Heart Association](http://professional.heart.org/professional/EducationMeetings/MeetingsLiveCME/EPILifestyle/UCM%5F316904%5FEPI-Lifestyle-Scientific-Sessions.jsp) meeting. “Pokémon Go is probably one of the most popular mobile games in history,” says study author Hanzhang Xu, a graduate student at Duke University School of Nursing. “Unlike traditional mobile games, it requires the players to be active and travel around in the real world. It has great potential to promote physical activity.” In the report, Xu and colleagues asked 167 iPhone users who had played _Pokémon Go_ to send them screenshots of their daily steps that were recorded on an iPhone app for close to 50 days. On average, the people in the study walked about 5,600 steps a day before using the game, and their average daily steps increased to about 7,600 steps after playing the game. The men and women were also twice as likely to reach their goal of 10,000 daily steps if they were playing _Pokémon Go_. Even the people in the study with the lowest activity levels at the start of the game seemed to improve by walking nearly 3,000 more steps a day after playing the game. Though smartphones have long been criticized as devices that cause people to be more isolated, Xu argues that _Pokémon Go_ brings people together to battle their creatures. “It has the potential to work as social media and break the ice of isolation,” says Xu. “Games like _Pokémon Go_ may provide an alternative way to encourage exercise.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4695726/pokemon-go-walking-steps/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4695726/pokemon-go-walking-steps/"},"headline":"Pokémon Go Makes People Walk 2,000 More Steps","datePublished":"2017-03-13T14:21:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:44:25.292Z","description":"A new report shows using Pokemon Go helps people be more active and get closer to reaching their goal of 10,000 daily steps.","url":"https://time.com/4695726/pokemon-go-walking-steps/","keywords":["Exercise & Fitness","Exercise","Video Games","Pokemon","physical activity","walking","pokemon go"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45d6187cda229a60/6988bd9ef887dcb9a3e995d5/pokemon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45d6187cda229a60/6988bd9ef887dcb9a3e995d5/pokemon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pokemon Go around Paris","caption":"Pokemon Go around Paris","creditText":"Chesnot—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/exercisefitness/","name":"Exercise & Fitness"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4695726/pokemon-go-walking-steps/","name":"Pokémon Go Makes People Walk 2,000 More Steps"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The World of Pokémon GO has Expanded!","description":"Pokemon Go expansion trailer","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/wMMP10V4/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-02-15T13:44:20.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/wMMP10V4.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4695726/pokemon-go-walking-steps/","duration":"PT39S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4695726/pokemon-go-walking-steps/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```