What they found was that, based on those who participated, Pokemon Go created a "significant" increase in physical activity in users, especially those deemed "particularly engaged," who added an average of 1,473 steps a day to their normal activity. That's about a 25% increase in activity, the paper reports.Using those numbers, the three estimate that over the course of just three months, Pokemon Go has added, in total, 144 billion steps to the United States' physical activity. The paper also explains the app has increased physical activity in males and females of varying ages and weights, "including those with low prior physical activity."
Lastly, while the paper does recognize it is difficult to sustain user engagement over a significant period of time, it states that if Pokemon Go can maintain its current reach it could have a "measurable effect" on human life expectancy, adding an estimated 2,825 million years to the human life span in the United States alone.
Pokemon Go is still making $2 million a day, despite a significant drop in hype, with 700,000 people still reportedly downloading the game daily.
For more on Pokemon Go, learn how the app will make it easier to train Pokemon at gyms and keep up with all things Pokemon Go with IGN's wiki for the game. Blake Hester is a KY-based writer. Follow him on Twitter @metallicaisrad.