Activity trackers don't boost health outcomes: Lancet Study

It’s time you ditch that activity tracker.

Tracking activity with a wearable device may not necessarily improve your health, according to a study published in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, an international medical journal. Nine out of ten participants of the study designed to measure the effectiveness of activity trackers stopped using the device once the incentives stopped.

The randomised trial involving 800 full-time workers recruited form 13 organisations from Singapore found that pedometers or activity trackers did not improve activity levels enough to improve health even where there was a monetary benefit involved. “Over the course of the year-long study, volunteers who wore the activity trackers recorded no change in their step count but moderately increased their amount of aerobic activity by an average of 16 minutes per week,” said lead author Professor Eric Finkelstein from Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.

Study design

In the first six months of the study, participants were assigned to the four groups. The first received information about physical activity and an incentive of S$4 (Rs 194) for every week but no activity tracker. The second group got an activity tracker and a weekly payment of S$4. Meanwhile the charity and cash group got a tracker plus S$15 for every week provided they logged between 50,000 and 70,000 steps. These groups received additional S$30 if they logged more than 70,000 steps. However, in the subsequent six months, they didn’t receive any monetary benefit.

During the first six months of the study, only participants in the cash incentive group recorded increases in physical activity compared to the start of the study. “While there was some progress early on, once the incentives were stopped, volunteers did worse than if the incentives had never been offered, and most stopped wearing the trackers,” said Finkelstein. The researchers did not find any improvement in health outcome for any of the groups at either six or 12 months.

Indians also prefer activity trackers

According to the International Data Corporation, the wearable market in India clocked just over 400,000 units in the first quarter of 2016. As per the corporation’s Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, the market was largely driven by fitness bands with 87.7% market share whereas smart wearables, defined as any wearable that can run third-party applications, contributed to around 12.3%.

Despite the popularity of such wearable activity tracking devices, the study found that it has no role in promoting weight loss or improved blood pressure or cardiorespiratory fitness, either with or without financial incentives. Many employers, insurers, and governments are encouraging the use of such devices to promote physical activity. The study was funded by Singapore’s Ministry of Health.

Sir HN Hospital and Research Centre’s chief dietician, Dr Eileen Canday, said that most people buy such devices out of excitement. “I have seen that once the novelty factor is over, people stop using it. Technology does help but what patients need is self-motivation and a coach to keep them motivated to achieve their health goals.”

Thirty-year-old Nidhi Shah has been wearing an activity tracker since the past two years. Shah bought the tracker while she was holidaying in the United States and found the idea fascinating. “Everyone in my friend’s family was using it and I decided to get it to India for my mother and I,” said Shah who runs a business in Mumbai.

Shah has been using the tracker to make sure she logs 10000 steps every day. “You win badges if you complete the goal and it is fun to put those on social media,” she said. “I don’t rely on it for improving my health. I continue to follow my diet.”

Canday said that the over-enthusiasm on the part of such device users sometimes proves costly. “Some people may not be able to perform to meet the expectation of the activity tracker which depresses them. Also, I have clients who have hurt their knees because of over-exerting themselves in a bid to get some likes on social media,” said Canday.