So you have purchased a fitness tracker and you’re feeling pretty confident that it’s going to improve your overall health. But don’t get too cocky. Researchers who conducted a study of 471 adults observed that the potency of fitness trackers that monitor physical activity and provide feedback may not offer an advantage over standard weight loss approaches.
So unless you are motivated to do the actual work it requires to become fit, the tracker isn’t going to help you.
The results may explain why other studies concluded why many fitness trackers often end up being abandoned. A CBS article cited an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association that suggested that more than half of the people who buy fitness trackers eventually stop using them – about one-third giving up on their devices after about six months.
Jim Pivarnik, Ph.D., a professor of kinesiology at Michigan State University, says that If you’re basing how much you eat, exercise, or sleep on your tracker’s findings, you may have an unrealistic understanding of your health, noting that the simple, admittedly virtuous-feeling act of wearing a tracker can also make it seem like you’re being healthier than you actually are.
Although a fitness tracker can be an excellent device that provides you with feedback on how many miles you have walked, people still need to have an understanding and a feel for their bodies that is independent of the tracker. A key point to remember is that the technology does not do any of the work to improve fitness. Ultimately it is up to the person wearing a tracker to educate themselves on how incorporate that information to improve their health.
So just remember, the fitness tracker is not the solution. It is merely a tool to help you achieve your goals. Think of it like a hammer. Just because you own one doesn’t mean the nails that require pounding are going to magically be driven home. So unless you are motivated to do the actual work it requires to become fit, the tracker isn’t going to help you.