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Smartwatches Overstate Calories Burned, Study Finds
Confirmed
In Short: Your smartwatch may not be an accurate source for tracking calories burned during workouts, according to a new study from Florida International University.
In an independent evaluation, FIU researchers tested four popular fitness watches against clinical lab equipment and found that these devices consistently overestimated the number of calories burned by users.
The errors were particularly significant for individuals with higher body fat, who may be more reliant on such tracking devices.
While Apple was the most accurate among the tested devices, Garmin and Samsung overestimated calories burned the most.
The reasons behind the disproportionate struggle of the watches to record calories for people with higher body fat remain unclear.
The study highlights the limitations of current fitness tracking technology, emphasizing the need for users to be cautious when relying on these devices for accurate health and fitness information.
Under the hood, smartwatches use a suite of sensors including an accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS, and a photoplethysmogram to track activity.
What's confirmed
- "You can't treat the calories burned number it gives you as an accurate number, because it's not," said Jason Kostrna, the study's lead author and FIU associate professor of kinesiology and exercise science in the College of Arts, Sciences & Education.
What's still developing
- If you're depending on your smartwatch to tell you the truth about how many calories you burned during a workout — well, don't.
- A test of four fitness trackers against clinical lab equipment showed that the devices overcount how many calories people burned, Florida International University said Monday.
- Read more: “The Pitfalls of AI Health Coaches” If you take a peek under the hood of your average smartwatch, you’ll find a suite of sensors, including an accelerometer, a gyroscope, GPS, and a photoplethysmogram (or PPG, which uses light to detect blood volume).
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