brucemcgegor
Fitness Trackers
The fitness industry is ever changing. Over the last few years health and fitness trackers have exploded in popularity. But do users that wear fitness trackers tend to become healthier in the long run? Are the trackers a fad that the wearer will lose interest in after a few days, weeks, or months? Fitness is not temporary, it should be a permanent fixture in life: can fitness trackers help with in this aspect?
One key piece of research was conducted by Dr. John Jakicic, from the University of Pittsburgh, looked at just this. at the end of his 24 month study with 470 participants. At the start of the trial all participants were put on low-calorie diets, instructed increase physical activity, and received group-counseling sessions on health and nutrition. After 6 months, half the group was given wearables, the other half continued to have monthly health counseling sessions.
"At the conclusion of a 24-month trial, researchers observed that usage of a wearable device in combination with a behavioral weight loss program resulted in less weight loss when compared to those receiving only the behavioral weight loss program. In fact, participants without physical activity trackers showed nearly twice the weight loss benefits at the end of the 24 months. Participants who utilized wearable devices reported an average weight loss of 7.7 pounds, while those who partook only in health counseling reported an average loss of 13 pounds. "
The study concludes it is not the wearable, but rather the diet and exercise, along with someone keeping the participants on track, that made the difference. Unfortunately putting a three hundred dollar watch on a wrist and pairing that with a smartphone will permanently improve health.
This is not to say that fitness trackers are not useful. Knowing heart rate, and other biometric readings are helpful and can be used to help with staying healthy and remembering to be active.. Constant heart rate monitoring while running can tell the wearer if they are in the correct heart rate range/percentage to be exercising the most efficiently. Wrist bound trackers are adequate in this regard, but not quite as effective as the heart rate monitors worn around the abdomen. Fitness trackers are useful, but they aren’t a cure for laziness. The wearer has to be dedicated to their personal health goal, and then they have to stick with it. For some spending money is the way to self invest, in a gym membership, or in this case the purchase of a fitness tracker as long as the wearer knows that they have to make the change not the wearable.
Fitness Trackers
The fitness industry is ever changing. Over the last few years health and fitness trackers have exploded in popularity. But do users that wear fitness trackers tend to become healthier in the long run? Are the trackers a fad that the wearer will lose interest in after a few days, weeks, or months? Fitness is not temporary, it should be a permanent fixture in life: can fitness trackers help with in this aspect?
One key piece of research was conducted by Dr. John Jakicic, from the University of Pittsburgh, looked at just this. at the end of his 24 month study with 470 participants. At the start of the trial all participants were put on low-calorie diets, instructed increase physical activity, and received group-counseling sessions on health and nutrition. After 6 months, half the group was given wearables, the other half continued to have monthly health counseling sessions.
"At the conclusion of a 24-month trial, researchers observed that usage of a wearable device in combination with a behavioral weight loss program resulted in less weight loss when compared to those receiving only the behavioral weight loss program. In fact, participants without physical activity trackers showed nearly twice the weight loss benefits at the end of the 24 months. Participants who utilized wearable devices reported an average weight loss of 7.7 pounds, while those who partook only in health counseling reported an average loss of 13 pounds. "
The study concludes it is not the wearable, but rather the diet and exercise, along with someone keeping the participants on track, that made the difference. Unfortunately putting a three hundred dollar watch on a wrist and pairing that with a smartphone will permanently improve health.
This is not to say that fitness trackers are not useful. Knowing heart rate, and other biometric readings are helpful and can be used to help with staying healthy and remembering to be active.. Constant heart rate monitoring while running can tell the wearer if they are in the correct heart rate range/percentage to be exercising the most efficiently. Wrist bound trackers are adequate in this regard, but not quite as effective as the heart rate monitors worn around the abdomen. Fitness trackers are useful, but they aren’t a cure for laziness. The wearer has to be dedicated to their personal health goal, and then they have to stick with it. For some spending money is the way to self invest, in a gym membership, or in this case the purchase of a fitness tracker as long as the wearer knows that they have to make the change not the wearable.