Nearly 20 million fitness trackers were sold last year. These digital devices – which track everything from heart-rate to the number of steps you take – are sold on the promise that they will help the owner lose weight and become fitter and happier. Unfortunately, like many sports performance products, research to support their usefulness is limited.
In research we recently published we found little evidence to suggest that owning a fitness tracker makes you healthier. Evidence for their effectiveness often relies on single reports from people describing their experience. A recent study, for example, observed that pedometers were effective in increasing activity levels, but these adults were also provided with regular consultations to discuss their progress. Similar interventions involving pedometers in isolation without the support of a healthcare professional show no long-term benefit.
