Players Of This Mental Sport Lose Up To 5 Kg And 6,000 Calories Just By Sitting

Aadhya Khatri - Sep 15, 2020


Players Of This Mental Sport Lose Up To 5 Kg And 6,000 Calories Just By Sitting

During a multi-day tournament, players could use up 6,000 calories daily, according to Robert Sapolsky, professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Stanford

During a multi-day tournament, a chess grandmaster could use up 6,000 calories daily, according to Robert Sapolsky, professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Stanford.

Many players compete in the elite category reported losing weight after a competition.

As stated by Fabiano Caruana, the world’s number 2 chess player, sometimes when he weighed himself after a tournament, he got scared when the scale dropped lower than 55 kg. His average body weight is 61 kg.

That may come as a surprise as chess is basically a sedentary game. However, metal workouts can burn as many calories as a physical workout.

Vishwanath Anand chess grandmaster
chess is basically a sedentary game.

Contrary to what most people think, humans burn calories from all sorts of activities, not just exercising. Calories are merely energy units you get from eating and you will burn them with whatever you do, including using your brain.

The brain needs glucose to think, memorize, and learn according to the Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute. Some studies reveal that brain activities burn around 20% of the total body’s calorie reserve.

In 2018, Marcus Raichle, a well-known professor of medicine from Washington University School of Medicine said the more mentally taxing tasks are, the more energy our body will burn to complete them.

Raichle Marcus Profile Photo
Marcus Raichle is a well-known professor of medicine from Washington University School of Medicine

He said learning to play a new instrument for eight hours in a row could result in a loss of 320 calories whereas a person weighing around 68 kg uses up 340 calories after half an hour of basketball.

If the tasks are stressful, expect even more calories will be burnt. Chess grandmasters are usually subjected to acute stress, which leads to increased heart rate and oxygen needs.

Fabiano Caruana chess grandmaster
Fabiano Caruana sometimes got scared when the scale dropped lower than 55 kg. His average body weight is 61 kg

However, those who have the weight-loss intention in mind shouldn’t rely entirely on mental tasks to achieve their goal. Dr. Raichle told TIME that intense thinking could never replace physical exercises and the number of calories one can expect to lose from mental activities would be very modest.

After a certain amount of time, you will get tired and distracted when you use up the glucose and find it hard to maintain the initial level of cognitive performance.

>>> Space Company Named Its Spacecraft After Late Indian-Origin Female Astronaut Kalpana Chawla

Comments

Sort by Newest | Popular

Next Story