The first thing that always crosses my mind when wearing a fitness is how accurate the data is. Smart watches and fitness trackers are not cheap, and if you are using them to monitor them as important as your health, there are cases of accuracy.
Everyone and their brother wear some kind of fitness tracker, whether it’s Apple Watch, Google Pixel Watch, Auria Color or Hoop. It is estimated that one in three American uses to wear for health and fitness tracking properties. This brings me back to see if these things can be trusted. If they are not right … then what’s the matter? Should we all go back to analog?
Researchers at the University of Mississippi conducted a meta -analysis of 56 studies that compared Apple Watch with reference tools when measuring factors such as heart rate, phase counting and energy burning. Although there is always some expected mistake, we have a more definite answer how much you should stock up in the number you see on your watch.
Apple watches are good at measurement measures and heart rate measurements
Meta analysis results shows that Apple Watch accurately measures your heart rate and phased count. We know that the absolute percentage of the error reported for every health metric is based on measuring (standard method of measuring accuracy).
The heart rate was a mistake of 4.43 %, while the phase count was an 8.17 % error. Anything less than 10 % is considered to be the best, so you should feel confident that your Apple Watch says your heart rate and phased counting day.
However, you should not rely on energy costs metric
The same cannot be said for energy costs or burning calories. The percentage for this matriculation was 27.96 %. This is an important jump in error. Researchers found energy costs wrong in all tested activities, including walking, walking, mixed intensity and cycling.
This is not a new problem. Numerous studies have shown that smart watches and trackers do not do a great job of calculating calories. They can range from 40 % to 80 %. A different study has revealed that the Apple Watch Series 9 can vary in energy costs and heart rate measures in skin color.
Although this study was specific to Apple watches, I expect similar trends in other devices as they often measure similar. One study found that when the calorie was burned, the feet of 27 % had an average error.
Smart watchs calculate how many calories you burn throughout the day, using factors such as your movement, heart rate and data from the sensor inside the clock. Other factors, such as your age, weight and gender, are also included in this calculation. None of them will be 100 % accurate.
Where does it leave you and your data?
This news does not frighten me as a smart watch wearer who uses my daily data to track my workout and sleep. I still think that data smart watches give us a great way to encourage.
Thanks to cardio load matriculation, I have used Google Pixel 3 Watch to monitor my heart health. When it comes to sleep, I felt some mistake when I sleep and wake up, though this is not a big difference. Most trackers use your heart rate and movements to track your sleep, so it is not surprising to see the error to some extent. There is always some mistakes, and for me, okay. I use my data for my progressive trends rather than highly granular data. Although you are a serious athlete that detects calories, it is not necessary to rely on this number on your own smart watch.
Your Smart Watch is a means to guide you in your welfare journey. Use it to build habits and make meaningful changes, do not diagnose medical conditions. That said, I will not count the features of Smart Watch such as Apple’s main app, falling or plus detection feature that Google Pixel watches are receiving.
Apple and other brands release permanently to improve their tech over time. And if you are wondering which Smart Watch you should get the best accuracy, it is difficult to say. They all have their own tracking methods, even though they are often overlaps. None of them is perfect, so it is better to choose which one fits your budget and performs well.
