#17: Fitbits Are Flawed, But They Can Still Help You Get Healthier
Fitbits, smartwatches, and fitness trackers. Neat tools to quantify one’s daily exercise. Unfortunately, they are totally inaccurate… but that doesn’t mean they’re useless.
When losing or managing weight, the unspoken wisdom is to compensate for food based on the calories we ‘use up’ working out. Fitbits help us get an idea of how many calories we burn. But this is a flawed approach.
One 2018 study showed that the available smartwatches at the time underestimated the calorie expenditure during exercise by 28 - 98 %. That’s more than a little off the mark.
A more recent study looked at the Apple Watch 6, the Polar Vantage V, and the Fitbit Sense to study their efficacy in more detail. Researchers found that the Apple Watch 6 was the most accurate for measuring heart rate but the Polar Vantage V and the Fitbit Sense “showed variable results dependent on the activity.”
In the same study, all three fitness trackers “showed poor accuracy for energy expenditure during five different physical activities.” They were off target by 15 - 25 %.
In light of this, breaking the bank for the latest, greatest fitness tracker may not look like the best idea. What’s the point if they don’t do their job accurately, right? But there’s more to it.
Fitbits Keep You Accountable, To Some Degree
I purchased my fitness tracker - an Apple Watch 6 - just over a year ago and have not regretted it. Because in quantifying my daily activities, I have something to answer to.
Apart from daily steps, the Apple Watch tracks three parameters, classed as ‘rings’:
A Move Ring that tracks your daily ‘calories burned’ through exercise-related activity.
A Stand Ring that records every hour you stood and moved for at least a minute.
An Exercise Ring that tracks how many minutes you exercise.
Upon purchase, I set my Move Ring goal to 600 calories, my Stand Ring goal to 12 hours, and my Exercise Ring goal to 30 minutes daily. I also vowed to walk 10, 000 steps daily.
Over the course of the next year, I not only met my goals, I smashed them.
It Did The Job, But There Was A Caveat Or Two
By the one-year mark, I averaged 1,007 kcal/day (Move Ring), 15 hours/day (Stand Ring), and 117 minutes/day (Exercise Ring). I also covered a mean of 12,902 steps/day.
There was, however, one problem. Any exercise calories tracked with a Fitbit never distinguished between real and minimal effort, and one does need the former to achieve a high standard of fitness.
Consider a man tracking 45 minutes of strength training at the gym. He could perform:
Bench press (five sets),
Back squats (five sets),
Bent over rows (five sets),
The workout seems decent enough, but what if this man went through the motions without real effort? What if he just lifted light weights without going to (or near) failure?
If that were the case, this would be ‘ junk volume’; training that won’t - under any circumstance - contribute to his gains. Yet, on a Fitbit, this workout would record the same ‘Exercise Minutes’ and ‘Move Calories’ as the same guy who did the same workout but went to failure with every set.
Maintaining a consistent, hard-working mindset with every session can mitigate this issue, but one could argue that even hardened athletes sometimes perform sub-maximally at times.
Tracking calories during a strength training session may not even be necessary, either. One doesn’t lift weights to burn calories, but to build muscle and change (improve, rather) body composition.
Caveats aside, we could simply come to terms with the tracker’s shortcomings and pride ourselves on the fact that we showed up and trained. Wearing it as a badge of honour can give you an appetite for more.
In The Context Of Weight Loss, Fitbits Can Help
Although they vary from brand to brand, fitness trackers are fairly competent at tracking steps: one of the most important parameters of health.
Averaging 10, 000 steps daily is a great way for your weight, longevity, and healthspan, especially if you are hitting that number coming off sedentarism (below 3, 000 steps).
Steps are so important, that for every 1, 000 steps/day taken; one’s lifespan seems to increase. And with more daily steps, one usually gets better cardiovascular health, sleep, cognition, and mental health.
Researchers identified a 32 % decrease in death among those who took at least 2,000 steps/day. And for every added 1,000 steps/day, the likelihood of premature death decreased even further.
In Malta, only 36 % of young adults and 28 % of our elderly accrue sufficient levels of activity; that means three 30-minute walks per week, according to the World Health Organisation. So given the context and advantages of tracking daily steps, having a Fitbit can improve your health.
For this reason, I recommend Fitbits (or any activity tracker), to any man or woman (or child) looking to lose weight.
If It Keeps You Active, Then Use It
Quantifying my activity helps me remain active. However, the opinions of others may differ.
If accuracy is a major factor, then I suggest you avoid tracking altogether. But if - like me - tracking helps you stay accountable, and motivates you to continue training, then go for it.
Exercise is great for your health. And while we can debate which type is more advantageous, there’s no denying that the best exercise is the one you can continue doing. If tracking is a means to this end, then such an advantage cannot be ignored.
