In 2020, the global fitness tracker market size was USD 36.34 billion, and it is predicted to reach USD 114.36 billion in 2028. This clearly shows that the market for fitness trackers is on the rise. But the question that arises is whether fitness trackers actually improve our health?
According to a study conducted by the American Journal of Medicine, fitness trackers don’t actually improve your health like supplements or medicines. Still, they do act as a means to provide incentives to improve one’s health.
This article will discuss how fitness trackers are beneficial for you and how they improve your fitness.
Different Case Studies About Fitness Trackers
As mentioned above, fitness trackers do not directly facilitate or help regulate blood pressure, cholesterol level, and so on. But there is a chance that people might get motivated to exercise after setting a customised weight loss program. Numerous studies have been conducted, but all the results show contradicting results – certain people are encouraged to continue with their exercise while others are not.
According to a study published in Front Public health, they found increased physical activity in sedentary adults due to the fitness tracker and smartphone applications. Even though there is a limitation when it comes to fitness trackers, it does help them to encourage physical activities through techniques like goal settings, feedback, and rewards. When provided with behavioural health strategies like action planning, restructuring negative attitudes, enhancing environmental conditions, etc., it helps cultivate healthy habits that can promote fitness.
However, a study conducted by The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology showed the opposite result of the previous research, i.e., trackers did not help people achieve their fitness goals. They studied a group of people by giving them just active trackers and then a combination of cash incentives or charitable donations to check if there was any difference between them. Towards the end of the study, about 90% of the people quit, and no one showed any significant measurable improvement in their weight, blood pressure, and quality of life.
From the above case studies, we can see how it is like two sides to the same coin. Either way, there are certain benefits that fitness trackers offer. Some of them are listed below–
Benefits Of Fitness Trackers
1. Tracks Your Activities
Most fitness trackers have customisable workout goals which you can set for yourself. It also provides tips and regular reminders to help you achieve your fitness goal. Apart from giving you’re the freedom to choose your preferred workout session, you can also track your progress as the tracker records the exercise statistics and reports since you started using the device.
2. Workout Motivation
A fitness tracker has a social feature whereby you can share your fitness progress and goal achievement on your social media page. Some of these trackers also have specialised features that let you connect with other fitness trackers so that you can work in groups and offer mutual motivation. This provides an opportunity for healthy competition and challenges between different people in the same group. So, not only does it motivate on an individual basis but also as a group.
3. Monitors Heart Rate
The fitness tracker has the ability to track our heart rate by monitoring our pulse rate. The heart rate is about 50-70% of the maximum heart rate when you participate in regular physical activities. This increases another 15% when the action becomes rigorous. To calculate your maximum heart rate, minus your age from 220.
4. Tracking Sleep
Trackers that run on higher technology have the ability to determine your sleep cycle and pattern, sleep duration, monitor your sleep movements and the number of times you woke up and how long you went into a deep sleep. Proper sleep is essential to maintain energy, provide rest for the body and brain, and quicker overall recovery. Once we receive data on our sleep cycle, we can make corrections to improve it.
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Verdict
Even though a fitness tracker does not directly boost or improve our health, it does motivate us to achieve our fitness goals. As mentioned above, these trackers have certain benefits, but they also have disadvantages like limited battery life, and some trackers can be expensive and not accurate.
Some of the Best Fitness Bands in India include Fitbit Charge 4 Fitness and Activity Tracker, Mi Smart Band 5 – Fitness Band, OnePlus Smart Band, and Fastrack Reflex 3.0 Activity Tracker.
Have you ever used a fitness tracker and found it beneficial? Would you please let us know in the comment section below?
Sources:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/activity-trackers-help-you-get-fit-2017102312594
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-fitness-trackers-can-improve-your-health
https://southdenver.com/fitness-tracker-benefits/
https://www.ace.edu/blog/post/2021/02/16/do-exercise-trackers-make-you-healthier
https://www.reidhealth.org/blog/how-fitness-trackers-benefit-you
