Health at your Fingertips: Reviewing the Good and the Bad of Fitness Trackers

Today, there is a growing awareness among the general population about the positive effects that fitness activities such as walking, jogging, gym exercises etc. have on general health. Slowly, but surely, there is a realization that one cannot enjoy life to the fullest without taking time out for exercising regularly. Neglecting fitness will eventually take a toll on your health and limit your professional as well as pleasure activities. Spending on health is now considered to be an investment for the future and not an expense. Like everything else in life, once they invest money and time in a cause, people want to see and experience the tangible benefits of the same. They want to know how effective their fitness regimes have been and also measure their daily progress. Knowing that her 30-minute daily walk will help keep her weight in control is not enough for my 45-year-old neighbour anymore. She wants to know the number of steps taken, whether she crossed the recommended target of 10,000 steps per day, if her heart rate was normal throughout and so on. And this is where fitness trackers come in!

Fitness trackers are the latest addition to the emerging market of wearable technology that help you track your health on-the-go. Their initial popularity has been such that within a short span of time the repertoire of different body functions they can track has greatly expanded. From being just simple pedometers that measured steps taken per day, they are now able to measure vital statistics such as heart rate, oxygen saturation and so on. Almost all the activity trackers help you monitor the essentials of your routine such as the steps that you took, the distance you covered and the speed with which you walked or ran etc. However, with an advanced activity tracker, you can also track your heart rate, sleep pattern and quality, calories burnt and so on. Nowadays, some hi-tech activity trackers also act as notification screens for your phone and notify you about incoming calls, missed calls, and messages received. More so, most of the products are extremely affordable making them accessible to larger strata of the society.

“Which one should I select then?’, does this thought often cross your mind when it comes to buying a fitness tracker? For that, you need to first jot down the most important reason why you want to purchase one. If weight loss is your motto, buying a fitness tracker that measures calorie loss is essential. On the other hand, if you are a long distance runner prepping for say the Ironman triathlon, then your choice should be one of the high-end advanced trackers which can be used underwater, can measure oxygen saturation and more. Aesthetics is another very important human consideration, so definitely the design of the fitness tracker, whether it is a watch, clip or bracelet, should be considered.

Below are the reviews of the Top 6 fitness trackers of the year gone by.

Image Source: www.goqii.com

GOQii with Personal Coaching app- It tracks the distance covered, calories burnt, heart rate, and sleep activity, along with having a unique health coach application. It is water resistant, has a decent battery life of 7 days and an automatic data sync with the phone that enables you to keep track of your progress. This tracker costs a decent INR 4000, keeping it in range for most people

Image Source: www.samsung.com

Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro–

Do you love running or performing physical activities in the wilderness? Well, this one’s got to be your pick! It has one of the most beautiful designs out there. It is water resistant, tracks activity as well as the heart rate and has an in-built GPS for route navigation.

Fitbit Charge 2(Image Source: www.amazon.com)

Fitbit charge 2- Fitbit was one of the first companies to introduce fitness trackers and today the range is synonymous with the term ‘fitness trackers’. The data collected by their products is considered to be most accurate. However, they are slightly heavy on the pocket compared to their counterparts. But, if you love a big screen that notifies you, the Fitbit Charge 2 is definitely your kind of choice. It costs anything between INR 9000-12000.

Tomtom Spark 3(Image Source: www.tomtom.com)

Tomtom Spark 3–

Do you love music when you exercise? Well, Tomtom 3 will definitely appeal to you as its best feature is that one can directly listen to music from the watch using Bluetooth supported speakers without needing a smartphone. Cool, isn’t it? It has GPS tracking, a heart rate monitor and route navigation system, which makes it a great if you love exploring new places. It is water resistant and has a battery life that lasts an average of three weeks, making it a good buy at INR 25,000.

Garmin Vivo Smart 3(Image source: www.garmin.com)

Garmin Vivosmart 3– Are you more of a gym person than a runner? Well, the Garmin Vivosmart 3 with an average battery life of six days might catch your eye. It has an automatic exercise detection system, heart rate variability (HRV), stress scores, heart rate counting and oxygen saturation statistics making it great for those who indulge in high-intensity training. It is a good device overall but lacks GPS support. It is priced at INR 10,000 making it a worthy buy.

Mi Band 3- This band was launched in the second half of the year but the sales report speaks volumes, with it flying off the shelves each week! In fact, popular online websites like Amazon were out of stock many times during
Mi Band 3( Image Source: www.mi.com)

each month and have had to replenish stocks rather quickly to meet the demand. The band is everything that other bands offer but at a very humble price. Upgraded from its earlier version, the Mi Band 2, this band came up with a bigger OLED monochromatic screen, better and more comfortable straps and more functionality such as heart rate monitor, sleep analysis, calories and fat burnt, timer, distance covered, notification alerts with a vibrating feature, call rejection, weather report, and a very useful yet a light mobile app. The band is waterproof and can be used for swimming up to a pressure of 5 ATM(50m). This super loaded band caught the eye of most Indians this year due to its features but more so due to its humble price of INR 1999. We can safely say the band was probably the most popular fitness tracker of the year 2018!

Coming to the not so good news: Randomized controlled trials conducted on fitness trackers and published in acclaimed journals such as the Lancet and Journal of the American Medical Association offer little evidence regarding the health benefits of wearing fitness trackers. The results of the studies published in these journals show that wearing these trackers had little benefit on the health and fitness of the subjects included. However, most of these studies were conducted on the early range of fitness trackers which were initially only pedometers. Today’s range of products are being designed on the basis of theories of psychology and behavioural economics and include using social networks to foster support for users and also have features such as goal setting. Studies on these advanced fitness trackers are still awaited.

Also, fitness trackers could trigger feelings of guilt and anxiety among certain users and could lead to them developing body issues. Thus, you should closely monitor your relationship with your fitness trackers and ensure it does not have a negative repercussion on your mental health.

So are fitness trackers, here to stay? The jury is still out on this one!

Convinced to buy one? Well, go ahead!