Fitbits Don't Work and Here's How That Affects You
Don't buy a Fitbit, nitwit!
The Fitbit seems like the perfect fitness performance tool.
The Fitbit is perfect for anyone, from the Grandma who wants to know JUST how much she's running around after her grandkids, to the Olympic-level athlete who needs exact numbers to improve their performance. It tracks your steps, maps your runs, and it even measures your heart rate. Or at least it's supposed to. It's been recently discovered that your Fitbit might not be measuring your life as accurately as you thought it was, but what does that mean for the users?
A research group at the California State Polytechnic University recently studied the accuracy of Fitbits.
The group specifically researched the accuracy of the PurePulse Trackers of Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge, by comparing hundreds of heart rate readings from users of both Fitbits.
The participants wore the Fitbits during free-living and laboratory exercises.
The free-living exercises are things that you do on the regular; sitting, standing, jogging and jump roping. The laboratory exercises were more gym-specific, such as treadmill running, stair machine climbing and plyometrics. This wide range of exercises was to test the full monitoring abilities of the PurePulse.
The study's conclusion was, well, heartbreaking.
The researchers wrote, "Based on our analysis of those readings, we conclude that the Fitbit PurePulse Trackers do not provide a valid measure of the users heart rate and cannot be used to provide a meaningful estimate of a user's heart rate, particularly during moderate to high intensity exercise." On average, Fitbits were off by 25 beats per minute.
The monitoring is questionable, but it gets worse as the wearer increases the intensity of exercise.
Wouldn't you want a heart rate monitor that works ESPECIALLY WELL during strenuous exercise?
The inaccuracy of the PurePulse Trackers wouldn't only affect athletes and fit people.
Fitbits are used by people at all levels of health and fitness. Inaccurate reports could put a burden on those who need their regular heart readings from Fitbit: people suffering from heart conditions, people living with obesity—even someone living a sedentary life could be alarmed by a sudden unexplained spike in their heart rate. Everyone who uses a Fitbit will be affected by this. Although, according to the Annals of Emergency Medicine, one man's life was saved by his Fitbit's readings, many more will be negatively affected by their Fitbits misreporting their exercise intensity and heart health.
Despite numerous other studies supporting CSPU's findings, Fitbit argues that the study is "biased, baseless, and nothing more than an attempt to extract a payout from Fitbit."
This is due to the original study being funded by the law firm that is currently suing Fitbit over the heart rate monitors not working. Even so, that doesn't change the fact that other studies and COUNTLESS Amazon reviews support the researchers' findings.
So the next time your annoying friend talks about how AMAZING her Fitbit is, you can roll your eyes in VICTORY knowing that your life doesn't revolve around a garbage bracelet that doesn't even work.