Do wearables work? Can they actually help you lose weight? by Zoe Archer (archerzoe) https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx Zoe Archer and Bethany Perkins en-us 2019-03-21 22:57:16 UTC 2019-03-22 00:46:49 UTC hello@padlet.com What are wearables? zoearcher988 https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx/wish/344032736 As society moves towards a healthier lifestyle and technology ever advances an increase in the usage of wearable technology. Fritz in 2014 suggested that healthcare and fitness specific wearable devices can be defined as technological devices and activity trackers that can monitor and record a person’s physical fitness through heart rate and calorie intake and can be worn by the person all the time. These devices can aid someone in losing weight or keeping track of their fitness goals. ]]> 2019-03-21 23:09:20 UTC https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx/wish/344032736 References zoearcher988 https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx/wish/344032889 Dontje, M. L., de Groot, M., et al. (2015). Measuring steps with the Fitbit activity tracker: an
inter-device reliability study. Journal of medical engineering & technology, 39(5), 286-
290.

Fritz, T., Huang, E. M., et al. (2014). Persuasive technology in the real world: a study of long-
term use of activity sensing devices for fitness. Paper presented at the Proceedings of
the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

Jakicic JM, et al. (2016). Effect of wearable technology combined with a lifestyle intervention on long-term weight loss: The IDEA Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA.

Spil, T., Sunyaev, A., et al. (2017). The Adoption of Wearables for a Healthy Lifestyle: Can Gamification Help? Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

Wortley, D. (2015). Gamification and Lifestyle Technologies for Personal Health
Management. Paper presented at the European Conference on Games Based
Learning.
 
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]]> 2019-03-21 23:10:31 UTC https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx/wish/344032889 Attitudes towards wearables zoearcher988 https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx/wish/344035192 Spil and other researchers in 2017 assessed the attitudes towards wearables in a general population and found that people generally have a positive attitude towards wearables. However, the number of people buying wearables compared to those downloading health apps is still quite low in comparison. ]]> 2019-03-21 23:26:07 UTC https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx/wish/344035192 Do they work? zoearcher988 https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx/wish/344035828 Dontje and multiple other researchers in 2015 stated in his study that the ability to self-monitor physical activity daily could potentially increase your awareness in your fitness and therefore will be more likely to produce positive, healthy behavioural changes.

A case study was conducted in 2015 by Wortley, on wearable bracelets such as the Jawbone, over two years. These wearables collect data such as physical activity, like sleep or steps and calorie consumption. The researchers found that when the wearables provide accurate data, feedback and coaching through interactive games, it can promote behavioural change. This behavioural change could be an increase in the number of steps taken in a day or reducing calorie consumption= helping lose weight. 

A survey was given to wearable wristband users such as Fitbit in a study conducted by Nelson in 2016. Results showed that users reflect positively on their experience of wearables due to them increasing feelings of empowerment within the individual. ]]> 2019-03-21 23:31:15 UTC https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx/wish/344035828 Waste of time? zoearcher988 https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx/wish/344039583 Not all studies support that wearables work, for example, a trial conducted between June 2013 and August 2014 that was published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.  The trial consisted of 800 people, who wore a fitness tracker for a year. The results of the trial showed that subjects without fitness trackers lost more weight than those who did. On average there was a difference of about eight pounds! The findings also showed those who wore fitness trackers weren't any more active than those without. 

A group of scientists designed a study to test if activity trackers are helpful for weight loss and maintenance. They found that the group with the wearable technology lost 2-3 percent less weight than those who didn't wear it. Researchers said that this could be due to people rewarding themselves after meeting specific goals then overindulging by eating. Overindulging could explain the lack of weight loss. Therefore, this could suggest that fitness trackers don't guarantee weight loss. 

Also, different studies have been found to use different methods to assess the validity and reliability of wearable technology, which can make it difficult to compare different devices. For example, the type of heart rate monitor on a FitBit could be different and produce a different reading to an Apple Watch. 

]]> 2019-03-22 00:00:18 UTC https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx/wish/344039583 Conclusion zoearcher988 https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx/wish/344043463 Research suggests that there have been lots of attempts for different fitness companies to develop wearables that help to achieve weight loss, raise realistic awareness of physical activity and calorie consumption. Research suggests that wearables increase personal awareness about physical fitness and therefore may make someone more likely to implement healthier life decisions. Wearables currently may not be as accurate as possible and may not be desirable enough to motivate people to lose weight. People have positive attitudes towards wearables, but they need to assist someone more to achieve weight loss compared to an app. ]]> 2019-03-22 00:24:24 UTC https://padlet.com/zoearcher988/eu8ucz4ifucx/wish/344043463