Why you Need More Than an Activity Tracker
Why you Need More Than an Activity Tracker
As a personal trainer, I often get asked by my clients if they should get a wearable activity tracker- like a FitBit, iWatch, or Galaxy. Nearly 10% of all adults are wearing an activity tracker, according to a 2017 ACSM consensus (Thompson, 2016). Rather than taking the “everybody’s doing it” approach, let’s dive deeper into statistics of not only wearing an activity tracker, but combining the wearable technology with fitness challenges!
A recent study compared activity levels, weight loss, and body composition in 120 first year medical students (DiFrancisco-Donoghue et al. 2018.) One group in this study wore wearable technology combined with challenges. Another group wore the activity tracker alone. The control group wore no activity tracker. The findings showed trends of more active days and less weight gain over the year when the two wearable technology groups were compared to the control group. When comparing the wearable technology group receiving the challenges with the group just wearing the technology, higher step counts were recorded, and were significant in the final months of the study. The group engaging in challenges also showed trends of changed body composition. When asked if the subjects felt wearing the activity tracker made them more aware of their physical activity most said they did.
As a takeaway from this study, it is clear utilizing a wearable device can help with increased activity levels. In short, everybody should track daily activity with some kind of wearable device but it isn’t enough! For best results, engage in challenges. These challenges can be set forth at your local fitness center, with groups of friends, or a physician.
Thompson. 2017. Worldwide survey of fitness trends for 2017. ACSMs Health Fit J, 20(6),8-17