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 So…they were probably too good to be true. Recent reports have come out showing that fitness trackers may not be making you more fit.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that people who did not use fitness trackers lost an average of five pounds more over a 12 month period than those who used one.
The study investigated whether regular use of commercially available activity trackers is effective for producing and sustaining weight loss. The trial was 24 months long and followed 470 individuals between the ages of 18 and 35 with a body mass index between 25 and 39 at the start of the trial. Approximately 77 percent of the participants were women.
Everyone was placed on a low-calorie diet, increased physical activity, and attended group-counseling sessions on health and wellness. After 6 months half the participants were given a wearable device and half continued health-counseling sessions on a monthly basis.
Participants who utilized wearable devices reported an average weight loss of 7.7 pounds, while those who partook only in health counseling reported an average loss of 13 pounds.
Researchers concluded that while the devices allow for ease of tracking physical activity they don’t encourage people to stick to the habits of a healthy lifestyle which is the most important aspect of any weight loss regimen.
The study showed the importance of not only healthy diet and exercise, but also of group health-counseling. This conclusion is further supported by a 2013 Weight Watchers study which showed that those who attended meetings lost more weight than those who just use an app and website.
But don’t ditch your Fitbit yet – both groups did lose weight and many wearables come with a community of other wearers that can be a fun way to help each other reach goals.
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