The higher your body fat percentage, the less accurate your smartwatch is at measuring calories you burn when exercising – new study
Smartwatch users should be wary of relying too heavily on these devices’ algorithmic measurements.
A recent study has found that the accuracy of smartwatches in measuring calories burned during exercise decreases as the wearer's body fat percentage increases. The research, conducted by a team at Florida International University, involved 58 Hispanic adults with varying body fat percentages. Each participant underwent a standardized cycling session while wearing four popular smartwatches: Apple Watch Series 8, Garmin Forerunner 955, Samsung Galaxy Watch5, and Fitbit Sense 2.
The participants alternated between moderate and vigorous-intensity exercise on a recumbent bike for 10 minutes, with their energy expenditure measured using a metabolic analyzer for comparison. The study found that all four smartwatches demonstrated substantial error in measuring caloric expenditure, with the median error ranging from 15% to 25%.
Apple's watch had the smallest average systematic error, while Garmin and Samsung produced larger overestimates. Fitbit's error was more variable, with some readings exceeding 450% of the measured value. The researchers noted that the relationship between body fat percentage and error was surprising, with higher body fat percentage leading to greater inaccuracy in the smartwatch's calorie calculations.
While the exact reasons for this relationship remain unclear, the findings suggest that individuals with higher body fat percentages should be cautious when relying on smartwatch data for calorie tracking during exercise.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
