Here's a positive "Pokemon Go" update. Since Niantic's mobile game debut in the US, the game is now making Americans exercise more. This is according to research from a group of scientists observing the global phenomenon.

Based on the study, the game has already added at least 144 billion steps to US physical activity. If American "Pokemon Go" players would play throughout their lifetime, the scientists estimate that players would add 2.825 million years to all of its US players. The paper is titled "Influence of Pokemon Go on Physical Activity."

The study was based on a three-month survey of 32,000 "Pokemon Go" players and data was gathered from correspondents that were using Microsoft's fitness trackers. The study was conducted by both Microsoft and Stanford University researchers.

The study furthermore points out that interest in playing the game correlates with an increase in physical activity. In other words, "Pokemon Go" is making people engage in physical exercise, which is known to improve overall health.

The researchers also noted the effect of the game on physical activity through large-scale wearable sensor data and search engine logs. The numbers all point to significant increases in physical activity over 30 days. More engaged users even increased their average activity by 1473 daily steps or 26 percent.

However, we should take the news with a grain of salt, because the study is not 100 percent accurate, it admits itself. The study only looked at data collected by Microsoft, and the researchers did not engage in personal interviews involving the 32,000 players. Researchers also had to make educated guesses about which participants were actually playing the game.

Moreover, that data came from a limited group of people. Players that could afford the $250 fitness tracker and agreed to allow Microsoft to collect their activity data are far limited in number. It's estimated that the US alone has at least more than a million players. If you are interested in the study, here's the full version of the paper.