{"id":131583,"date":"2019-04-02T18:23:25","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T18:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=131583"},"modified":"2025-07-01T22:08:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T05:08:57","slug":"does-fitness-tracking-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/does-fitness-tracking-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Do fitness trackers really work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CheckingBetween\u00a0 fitness apps and the Fitbits, sometimes we still don’t see the results we want.<\/p>\n

According to sociologist\u00a0Deborah Lupton<\/a>, there are something like 160,000 tracking apps circulating the various app stores. These apps cover the full spectrum of personal improvement tools. Apps like RunKeeper<\/a>, Google Fit<\/a>, and Apple Health promise a “knowledge is power” approach to managing our health stats.<\/p>\n

While it seems like this personal quantification stuff is a trend we\u2019ve been witnessing over the past few years, it\u2019s definitely not new. What we were curious about was whether people stuck with their tracking efforts long term.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And if so, does tracking yield any positive results?<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been documenting ourselves since the dawn of time<\/h2>\n

Personal observations are super old. People have long been documenting their activities from bodily functions and what they ate to efforts at fitness. This 2010 NYT piece<\/a>\u00a0looked at a few people who kept detailed accounts of their lives. While some devices were on the scene in 2010, the process was largely analog.<\/p>\n

These days, the connection between data and the body is something the masses can tap into. Where we used to only have analog observations to rely on, we now get to play scientist with state-of-the-art tools.<\/p>\n

There are always going to be people obsessed with their stats, but it seems unsustainable for most of us to track, optimize, and monitor ourselves<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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5 great apps for tracking your exercise<\/p>\r\n Read Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

The Quantified Self \u2014 is knowledge driving self-improvement?<\/h2>\n

\"PeopleThe Quantified Self movement<\/a> believes that numbers bring a sense of logic to the table. These numbers underscore the emotions tied to our mistakes and other shortcomings. Fitness trackers give us a sense of accomplishment<\/strong> by sheer virtue of putting them on.<\/p>\n

The data available so far doesn’t quite present a clear-cut solution as far as whether obsessive tracking pays off long term.<\/p>\n

A 2015 study published by the American Journal of Public Medicine<\/a> gave pedometers to one group of overweight women and fitness trackers to another. The women who used the trackers increased their activity by an average of 38 minutes a week.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The pedometer group did not increase their fitness levels at all<\/strong>. So, here, we\u2019re looking at two tools that essentially do the same thing. One cheers you on and sends little motivational alerts when you meet a goal, while the other just counts your steps.<\/p>\n

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The 4 best smartwatches for fitness<\/p>\r\n Read Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

Another study<\/a> from the Journal of the American Medical Association found that obese people who wore fitness trackers lost less<\/strong> weight over two years. Those who made an effort to eat healthily and exercise without<\/strong> the technology actually fared better.<\/p>\n

One problem is inaccurate reporting. Devices are good at tracking steps, but anything more strenuous than walking is hard to quantify. So, looking into the data you collect yourself could present a warped perception of your overall fitness levels.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The JAMA participants might have looked at an app that told them they burned 800 calories when in reality, that number was closer to 400. These skewed numbers can make you think you need to eat more<\/strong> and consequently gain weight.<\/p>\n

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Complete guide to self-improvement: mind and body<\/p>\r\n Read Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

What\u2019s the point?<\/h2>\n

Well, okay. Maybe it\u2019s a dumb question. The promise of tracking our bodies presents a means of gaining control over our mortality, our success, our appearance, and how we feel<\/strong>. Which, of course, sounds great.<\/p>\n

But, we wonder, how many people know what to do with their \u201cpersonal analytics?\u201d If you\u2019re considering a fitness tracker, it\u2019s worth asking yourself a few questions.<\/p>\n