Millions of people worldwide believe fitness trackers, pedometers and smart watches motivate them to exercise more and lose weight, according to a new study by Australian researchers.
The findings of the study have been published in Lancet Digital Health.
Wearable activity trackers encourage us to walk up to 40 minutes longer each
day (approximately 1800 steps more), resulting in an average weight loss of 1 kg
over five months.
University of South Australia researchers reviewed nearly +00 studies
involving 164,000 people around the world using wearable activity trackers
(WHATs) to monitor their physical activity.
Their findings underline the value of low-cost interventions to a growing
epidemic of health problems caused in part by lack of exercise, including:
cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer and mental illness.
Lead researcher UniSA PhD candidate Ty Ferguson says despite popularity
of WATs, there is widespread skepticism about their effectiveness, accuracy,
and whether they fuel obsessive behavior and eating disorders, but the
evidence is overwhelmingly positive.
“The overall results of the studies we reviewed show that wearable activities
trackers are effective in all age groups and over a long period of time,” says Ferguson.
“They encourage people to exercise regularly, make it part of their routine, and set goals to lose weight.”
1kg weight loss may not seem like much, but researchers say from an audience
health perspective it makes sense.
“If we keep in mind that these were not weight loss studies, but physical lifestyle
activity studies, so we wouldn’t expect dramatic weight loss,” says UniSA
Professor Carol Maher, co-author of the review.
“The average person gains about 0.5 kg per year in weight creep, so loses 1 kg
more than five months is significant, especially when you consider that two-thirds of the
Australians are overweight or obese.”
Between 2014 and 2020, the number of wearable activity trackers shipped
globally increased by nearly 1,500 percent, translating into a global spend of
$2.8 billion in 2020.
Aside from the extra physical activity and weight loss attributed to WATs, there is
is some evidence that fitness trackers also help lower blood pressure and
cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes and other health problems.
“The other reported benefit is that WATs improved depression and anxiety
by an increase in physical activity,” says Ferguson.
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