Are You A Tracker??

It seems like there is a never ending supply of Fitbits, Jawbones and Garmins to track every single step that we take.  While these can help us increase our activity, how accurate they actually are at tracking our activity is an important question.  Well...........a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine takes a look at that topic.  The researches looked at three different methods to track activity; The metabolic chamber, the double label water method, and the wearable activity tracker.  For those wondering........the metabolic chamber precisely measures a person's oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output allowing for a direct measure of calories burned.  In the double water method the participant drinks water with certain isotopes which are excreted in the urine and can be measured.  The activity tracker is obviously worn somewhere on the body.  Which do you think will be most accurate??  The water method was actually the most accurate.  The chamber method reported in roughly 9% lower while the activity band came in as little as 2% lower to as much as 25%.  As usual with my blogs............what does this all mean?  It means that you should understand that the activity tracker is just that.....a tracker, a rather vague one at that.  The tracker should be added to an overall well balanced program to obtaining your goals.  Wondering which trackers were the most accurate? The Omron Active Style Pro, Omron Caloriscan, and Fitbit Flex. 

Thanks for reading.
Dr. Wiskind DC, CCSP
Vitality Sports Chiropractic

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