Fitness devices - bad news?

[fossyant]

They are useful for seeing how you sleep, but that's it. We had some Jawbones that my wife bought, I broke 3 and my wife's eventually broke. Absolute crap, and customer service was shocking. Gave up in the end and didn't bother with the latest replacement and never wore it.

HR on fitbit's is inaccurate, no question about that. Only a chest strap can monitor HR correctly during exercise.

 

[Drago]

Not as dangerous as speedometers in cars which distract drivers from their main task of observing the road in front of them. (Safespeed 2001)

There is actually quite a deal of evidence that shows that conscientious drivers who don't have their stereo's at Warp 10 can maintain a very accurate steady speed without having to look at the speedo every second. Indeed, if you cant look at roadsigns, pedestians, speedometers etc without crashing then you probably shouldn't be on the road anyway.

 

[Piemaster]

Exactly
I am a "grey" person according to GP

BP, Cholosterol, are just on the lower edge, and the diabetes just over

I use an electronic BP machine and a Glucometer to keep track

However in both cases I have "calibrated" against standard BP machines and a standard blood test so I have an idea.

The BP is slightly low, but the Glucometer is within 2% so accurate enough for routine monitoring

Having a rough idea of how accurate they are is a good idea, but I'd say it's more important that the instrument measures consistently so you can trend your results. Similarly we have a Withings wifi scale, it shows a little graph of which way you're heading (eg. up over Christmas). Links to an app/website for longer term trends and goals.
Same with Fitbit, not absolute number of steps but it does tell how active a day you've had. I'm not convinced by the bands that have HRM built in as the accuracy still seems a little hit and miss, hence the court action.
I'm currently wearing a Garmin FR15 which does step tracking but mostly bought for the GPS running tracking, often paired with a chest HRM - it only does HRM when in 'running' mode. Even if I had a Garmin that did wrist HRM think I'd still be looking to see if it could be paired with a chest strap for exercise.
I've had the FR15 a couple of years, waterproof and tough enough to have survived use at work (engineering). It replaced a fitbit flex,which lasted 6 months in similar use and didn't tell the time.

 

[fossyant]

A Garmin would be the only one I would get.

 

[Arrowfoot]

This is in Cafe to get a wider range f replies

There have been a couple of articles recently suggesting that measuring heart rate, distances, etc and attempting to hit these targets can be detrimental

The suggestion is that putting in an extra ride or going faster when you are already tired, stressed or unewll can be detrimental

There is also a court case with FitBit where the claim is that measurements are inaccurate and can for this reason be dangerous. If someone attempts a maximum heart rate and due to the equipment error is in fact above, it can cause problems

Of course the individual has a responsibility to be sensible, but given the way these devices have become so popular and the increase of Strava etc, is the use of these devices becoming excessive, and do you think there is a problem with their use and accuracy?

An over-reaction. Half the stuff in the house poses a danger if not sensibly used. Surely there are better things to be worried about.

 

[biggs682]

i use a basic pedometer just to keep a track on my daily step total , but i am not driven by it

 

[srw]

I use a Fitbit one for exactly the reasons @User says - it reminds me (when I don't leave it behind) to keep at least moderately active. It also tells the time. I wouldn't trust any wrist HR monitor at all.

 

[snorri]

There is actually quite a deal of evidence that shows that conscientious drivers who don't have their stereo's at Warp 10 can maintain a very accurate steady speed without having to look at the speedo every second. Indeed, if you cant look at roadsigns, pedestians, speedometers etc without crashing then you probably shouldn't be on the road anyway.

Did you not spot my laughing smiley?

 

[Tin Pot]

This is in Cafe to get a wider range f replies

There have been a couple of articles recently suggesting that measuring heart rate, distances, etc and attempting to hit these targets can be detrimental

The suggestion is that putting in an extra ride or going faster when you are already tired, stressed or unewll can be detrimental

There is also a court case with FitBit where the claim is that measurements are inaccurate and can for this reason be dangerous. If someone attempts a maximum heart rate and due to the equipment error is in fact above, it can cause problems

Of course the individual has a responsibility to be sensible, but given the way these devices have become so popular and the increase of Strava etc, is the use of these devices becoming excessive, and do you think there is a problem with their use and accuracy?

You raise an interesting point - do you have a link to the court case?

Whilst I'm happy to accept one device may be less accurate than another, wrist / optical heart rate monitors are so far out of whack I think it's reasonable to raise a case against them.

You would have to be an idiot to believe your Fitbit over your physical exertion to such a point that you're injuring yourself - but there are a lot of idiots out there.

 

[Archeress]

I have a Fitbit One, so it doesn't do heart rate, it's more like a pedometer that syncs with my phone. I don't go all out to beat targets with it, it's more an indicator of how active I've been which in turn can help pinpoint my depression getting worse. I have had it almost a year now and it is still in daily use.

Incidentally, David Sedaris wrote a humerous article about his experience with Fitbit. You can find it here: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/30/stepping-out-3. David Sedaris is a funny American observational essayist who has lived in France and I think now lives in Sussex. You can often hear him reading from his books on a show on BBC Radio 4 (possibly 4 extra).

Hugs
Archeress x

 

[ufkacbln]

You raise an interesting point - do you have a link to the court case?

Whilst I'm happy to accept one device may be less accurate than another, wrist / optical heart rate monitors are so far out of whack I think it's reasonable to raise a case against them.

You would have to be an idiot to believe your Fitbit over your physical exertion to such a point that you're injuring yourself - but there are a lot of idiots out there.

An article was linked in post 12

DC Rainmaker gives more data

 

[ufkacbln]

The other interesting point is the increasing use of the data in court cases

In one case a person used the data in an insurance claim to show she was less fit and able following the accident

The other was in a rape case. The woman claimed that she was asleep when she was sexually assaulted, however her fitbit data was downloaded and showed that duringthe period she claimed to be asleep she was in fact awake and walking around

Another was a GPS with accident warning, where the driver left the scene. The driver denied she had been in an accident, but the GPS System, had firstly alerted Police at the time of an accident and the GPS track also identified her at the scene. I know this is vehicle related, but the latest Garmin Edge has such a system built in

Another aspect that many people are unaware of

 

[ufkacbln]

Edge Collision alert system

 

[Tin Pot]

An article was linked in post 12

DC Rainmaker gives more data

Cheers.

Well, on that basis I wish them luck on their lawsuits.

These wrist HRs are utter balls with the figures they give out.

 

[vernon]

Incidentally, David Sedaris wrote a humerous article about his experience with Fitbit. You can find it here: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/30/stepping-out-3. David Sedaris is a funny American observational essayist who has lived in France and I think now lives in Sussex. You can often hear him reading from his books on a show on BBC Radio 4 (possibly 4 extra).

Humour is subjective. On the strength of hearing him a couple of times on Radio Four and enjoying his readings, Mrs Vernon and I went to see him perform live. We were underwhelmed. He writes better than he performs.