Pokémon Go Players Have Walked More Than 2 Billion Miles
By Anna Green

Video games and mobile apps are often blamed for turning players into couch potatoes, but Pokémon Go is actually making its players more active. Since the game launched in July, players have trekked a whopping 2.8 billion miles, according to Niantic CEO John Hanke. As Business Insider explains, that’s greater than the distance between the sun and Neptune.
Hanke announced the Pokémon Go stats at Apple’s iPhone 7 event on September 6. Unfortunately, he didn’t elaborate on those numbers, so it’s still unclear how much the average Pokémon Go player is walking.
But any way you spin it, 2.8 billion miles is an impressive number: If you break that down into calories burned, Forbes notes, you’re looking at 340 billion calories lost globally in just over two months. If it takes 3500 calories burned to drop a pound, that means users have lost a collective 97 million pounds. Nothing to scoff at, especially considering Pokémon Go—which rewards players for walking with animated creatures—isn’t explicitly marketed as a fitness app.
[h/t Business Insider]
Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.