The Washington Nationals are set to host their opening weekend at Nationals Park starting on Friday, April 4th, against the defending champions, the L.A. Dodgers!
Now, as Nationals fans are ramping up for another 162-game season, there’s one more thing that comes with the season that they may not realize: some pretty significant weight gain!
According to a recent study, the average Washington Nationals fan will pack on around 10.4 lbs of weight throughout the season – a metric that was calculated based on data collected via survey and known data about dining at the ballpark!
Why do Washington Nationals fans gain weight during the season?
The study had several interesting findings, notably that the average baseball fan eats roughly 753 more calories on gameday than on regular days.
Combined with an average of 3.2 games being watched per week, that means that the average baseball fan could gain as much as 18 lbs over the course of a season!
Among Nationals fans, based on survey responses, the average fan watches around 2.9 games per week throughout the season and eats an additional 490 calories per game day, which means the typical Nationals fan could gain as much as 10.4 lbs by the end of the season!
Credit: Washington Nationals
What was the methodology of this study?
The study is based on responses from a survey of over 3,000 respondents across the United States.
The survey asked participants to self-report the following:
Average number of servings eaten on non-game days.
Average number of servings eaten on game days.
Favorite team.
The average number of games they watch a week.
Most frequent viewing locations (At home alone, with friends or family, at a bar or restaurant, or at the ballpark)
Additionally, to calculate gameday calorie consumption, the study standardized the caloric composition of some of the most common gameday snacks you might have at home, at the bar, or even at the ballpark!
Those food items include:
Pizza slice: 285 calories
Cheeseburger: 450 calories
Hot dog: 350 calories
Chicken wings: 500 calories
Nachos: 450 calories
Fries: 350 calories
Tacos: 400 calories
BBQ ribs: 350 calories
Chips: 150 calories
Popcorn: 150 calories
Brownie: 300 calories
Beer: 150 calories
Soft drink: 150 calories
Participants in the study’s survey were recorded to be 55% male, 44% female, and 1% non-binary, with an average age of 42.4 years.