Dalhouse University | Sara Kirk works as a professor of health promotion at Dalhouse University in Canada. She now comments from a scientific perspective on the current hype surrounding fitness trackers and wearables such as the Garmin Vivosmart HR. According to Kirk, the problem at the moment is that wearable technology is developing very quickly and research is not yet able to keep pace. There are a number of exciting technologies, but we have not yet had the chance to investigate the effects on, for example, training motivation and the medium to long-term fitness of the respective user.
According to the professor, there have already been somewhat larger-scale studies in the USA and Australia, but the results are still too incomplete to make concrete statements about the benefits of fitness trackers. This is why, as a health researcher, she has not yet been able to recommend smart wearables or highlight specific apps. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that science will catch up with practice in the near future: wearables are developing too rapidly. And it is a lengthy process to raise research funds and develop study designs: By the time you are ready for a new study, however, fitness trackers have already developed to the next evolutionary stage.
Only within the next few years will there be more and more studies. Then it may be possible to make recommendations for certain apps and trackers or features. According to Kirk, however, it can already be admitted that fitness apps can certainly boost motivation for some people. The professor herself does not use a device from Garmin and co. but from the market leader Fitbit.
Dwight d'Eon, owner of the fitness studio Anytime in Halifax (Canada), for example, takes a more pragmatic view: he thinks that the confusion of data restricts and confuses some people more than it helps them to exercise. As long as you don't have very specific fitness goals, the data is largely irrelevant. Instead of digging through the statistics of the apps, you should simply check how well your pants fit.
Perhaps further studies will shed light on the effects of fitness trackers in the future. Presumably with products such as the Garmin Vivosmart HR as with so many gadgets: it simply depends on how they are used.
Source: body LIFE | www.smartwatch.de
Published on: 9 March 2016