Eli5: Why do you get fat from sitting around playing video games but not lying around sleeping?

Question

Eli5: Why do you get fat from sitting around playing video games but not lying around sleeping?

In: Biology

Answer 1

You don’t get fat from doing either of those things. You get fat from eating more calories than you burn. Exercise burns more calories than just lying around, so you can eat a few more calories and they’re effectively “canceled out” by the exercise. But if you don’t exercise, it doesn’t really matter what you spend your time doing, whether it’s sitting in a chair, lying in a bed, it’s all the same. Those are equal from your body’s perspective.