Are Fitness Trackers Healthy?

It seems everywhere you look, people are logging their every step wearing fitness trackers.  They are cool to use, come in lots of fun colors and designs, but are they necessary for a healthier lifestyle?

Research has shown that if you want to stick to a new habit, monitoring is one of the best ways to make a change.  People who wore pedometers spent less time sitting, more time being active, and lost more weight than those who didn’t sport a device.  There are fitness trackers on the market that can count your steps,  calories, distance traveled, heart rate, and track your sleep patterns.   They  can keep you accountable, give you that motivation you might need, and help you achieve your goals toward that healthier you.

As wonderful as this sounds, there are some concerns about depending / obsessing over the tracker that never leaves your body and double checking the numbers frequently during the day.  Very little published research exists to demonstrate the accuracy of the device and  people tend to overestimate how much activity they’re getting and underestimate how many calories they’re consuming.  You can get so caught up in tracking that you lose site of your overall goal, improving fitness or weight loss, in favor of meeting a steps per day goal.

At the end of the day, it’s about making the right lifestyle choice, not about the technology.  Your body is still the best tool you have for telling you if you’re drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, if you are ready to lift heavier or getting closer to your fitness goal.  Personally I say, keep it simple, enjoy the activity, have fun and if you must, wear your tracker.