Sounds like clickbait, doesn't it? Well, that's not the case, at least not based on a recent study from Stanford and Microsoft, and it's about for the reason you'd expect.

Essentially, those who play Pokemon Go fairly actively are getting fairly active, getting about 26 percent more physical activity than they were beforehand, so says the combined effort of Microsoft Research and Stanford University. Essentially, those walking around looking for Pokemon to capture are putting in almost 1,500 steps extra per day, which is a healthy chunk of healthy activity. In fact, Pokemon Go has gotten a lot of players a little fitter; cumulatively, Pokemon Go has added around 144 billion steps to US physical activity just since July.

What's more, the reality may even be better than the study notes; the study only covers users of Microsoft Band, a $250 wearable device, and those who were actually willing to share their activity. Some doubt the overall levels of engagement, but it's certainly enough to get a start.

Games have been promising improved activity for some time; it was one of the biggest selling points of the Wii, and the connection between games and activity goes back to the eight-bit era and a mat controller that allowed gamers to control games with physical movement. Getting more active is just generally good practice, even if this doesn't turn out to be quite as worthwhile as projections indicate.

Any extra activity is good, in the end, and Pokemon Go seems to be getting a lot more people up, around and active. While we could use more study to make the most of this, the end results suggest a positive overall development.