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I don't get it, they note that while playing chess that they burn extra calories "Robert Sapolsky, who studies stress in primates at Stanford University, says a

I don't get it, they note that while playing chess that they burn extra calories "Robert Sapolsky, who studies stress in primates at Stanford University, says a chess player can burn up to 6,000 calories a day while playing in a tournament, three times what an average person consumes in a day. " Why would playing chess burn more calories than say watching a football game?

jasfi 5y ago
They are likely very psyched up and stressed. Possibly even pacing a lot. Possibly eating less without thinking about it. Your average game of chess wouldn't have the same effect.
1980phipsi 5y ago
Your brain uses more energy when it's working hard.
- mumblemumble 5y ago
  Though, at least according to some of the figures cited in https://www.healthline.com/health/does-thinking-burn-calories https://www.healthline.com/health/does-thinking-burn-calorie..., it doesn't sound like the several thousand extra calories a day that the article suggests doesn't seem terribly plausible.
  - checker 5y ago
    These players aren't just thinking, they're competing. I'm not an expert, but it seems possible to me that they are probably experiencing adrenaline/stress that triggers calorie burn. Ever sweat during a tough exam / interview?
taneq 5y ago
Interesting point - chess is something we perceive as "intellectual" but it might actually use less metabolic energy (even in the brain) than other physically stationary activities like video gaming or watching sports. It'd be interesting to see some proper research into the topic, would love links to any!
IncRnd 5y ago
Because you do more while playing chess than passively watching other people do things. Using your brain expends calories.
Retric 5y ago
That number is unlikely to be correct. 20% of the bodies energy is used by the brain so ~400 calories per day, bumping that to ~4400 while playing chess and would mean people where seriously overheating etc. It’s very likely they made some significant error.
- checker 5y ago
  Your focus on the brain is too narrow. Competition leads to adrenaline which triggers the body outside the brain to burn more calories (elevated body heat, etc). I'd bet these players have elevated body heat - ever sweat during a stressful meeting or exam?
  - Retric 5y ago
    Adrenaline increases capillary blood flow which actually lowers core body temperature in preparation for action action. You can watch grand masters play, their generally not fidgeting or pacing etc. They do sweat, and I would believe 4K but it’s nowhere near enough for 6k calories per day.
    - checker 5y ago
      Ok yeah, just wanted to point out that assuming that the brain has to be the one burning these calories seems too narrow when it's the body as a system being analyzed. Definitely not an expert here, so your napkin math might be true.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
vinceguidry 5y ago
The brain is a surprisingly hungry consumer of energy. During childhood, it can make up 60% or more of the body's energy usage. Adult brains generally use around 20-25%. I have a friend who has ADD that I'll play Super Smash Bros. with. If I'm playing well, his competitive instinct kicks in and he'll start sweating heavily and has to turn on a fan. I keep telling him he needs to study the fundamentals of the game so he doesn't have to use so much energy processing our interactions. But he just doesn't get it, so the cognitive load of playing the game takes a lot out of him, while I can sit and play for hours and hours. Whereas I'll break out into cold sweats trying to process social interactions. Everybody optimizes their brains to store and process different kinds of information. When we run into situations that we haven't learned how to efficiently process, we use more energy. The body pumps blood into the brain, heating up the body, causing us to sweat. A chess grandmaster pushes this system close to the limit. https://www.livescience.com/burn-calories-brain.html https://www.livescience.com/burn-calories-brain.html

jasfi 5y ago

They are likely very psyched up and stressed. Possibly even pacing a lot. Possibly eating less without thinking about it. Your average game of chess wouldn't have the same effect.

1980phipsi 5y ago

Your brain uses more energy when it's working hard.

mumblemumble 5y ago
Though, at least according to some of the figures cited in https://www.healthline.com/health/does-thinking-burn-calories https://www.healthline.com/health/does-thinking-burn-calorie..., it doesn't sound like the several thousand extra calories a day that the article suggests doesn't seem terribly plausible.
- checker 5y ago
  These players aren't just thinking, they're competing. I'm not an expert, but it seems possible to me that they are probably experiencing adrenaline/stress that triggers calorie burn. Ever sweat during a tough exam / interview?

taneq 5y ago

Interesting point - chess is something we perceive as "intellectual" but it might actually use less metabolic energy (even in the brain) than other physically stationary activities like video gaming or watching sports. It'd be interesting to see some proper research into the topic, would love links to any!

IncRnd 5y ago

Because you do more while playing chess than passively watching other people do things. Using your brain expends calories.

Retric 5y ago

That number is unlikely to be correct. 20% of the bodies energy is used by the brain so ~400 calories per day, bumping that to ~4400 while playing chess and would mean people where seriously overheating etc. It’s very likely they made some significant error.

checker 5y ago
Your focus on the brain is too narrow. Competition leads to adrenaline which triggers the body outside the brain to burn more calories (elevated body heat, etc). I'd bet these players have elevated body heat - ever sweat during a stressful meeting or exam?
- Retric 5y ago
  Adrenaline increases capillary blood flow which actually lowers core body temperature in preparation for action action. You can watch grand masters play, their generally not fidgeting or pacing etc. They do sweat, and I would believe 4K but it’s nowhere near enough for 6k calories per day.
  - checker 5y ago
    Ok yeah, just wanted to point out that assuming that the brain has to be the one burning these calories seems too narrow when it's the body as a system being analyzed. Definitely not an expert here, so your napkin math might be true.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

vinceguidry 5y ago

The brain is a surprisingly hungry consumer of energy. During childhood, it can make up 60% or more of the body's energy usage. Adult brains generally use around 20-25%. I have a friend who has ADD that I'll play Super Smash Bros. with. If I'm playing well, his competitive instinct kicks in and he'll start sweating heavily and has to turn on a fan. I keep telling him he needs to study the fundamentals of the game so he doesn't have to use so much energy processing our interactions. But he just doesn't get it, so the cognitive load of playing the game takes a lot out of him, while I can sit and play for hours and hours. Whereas I'll break out into cold sweats trying to process social interactions. Everybody optimizes their brains to store and process different kinds of information. When we run into situations that we haven't learned how to efficiently process, we use more energy. The body pumps blood into the brain, heating up the body, causing us to sweat. A chess grandmaster pushes this system close to the limit. https://www.livescience.com/burn-calories-brain.html https://www.livescience.com/burn-calories-brain.html