![]() Understanding the users’ experience is vital for clinicians asked to provide advice regarding activity trackers, and researchers and service providers seeking to use activity trackers with clinical or population groups. For example, Ferguson reported issues with the Nike Fuelband battery not holding sufficient charge and the Jawbone Up device failure after 4 weeks of use. Furthermore, practical issues such as durability, longevity and comfort have not been scrutinised, though preliminary evidence suggests they can be problematic with particular models. In addition, such studies have typically not required participants to use the manufacturers’ apps or software, therefore, little is known about the usability of such software. ![]() 1–7 days), and very little research has scrutinised the utility of activity trackers in the longer term. However, such studies have generally been carried out over a short period (e.g. Fitbit devices have most commonly been researched and typically perform strongly. stairs climbed, energy expenditure) and sleep. To date, evidence suggests that activity trackers are most accurate for measuring steps, and less so for other physical activity-related metrics (e.g. Taken together, this research suggests that activity trackers are reasonably accurate, though validity varies for different manufacturers and models, and according to the health behaviour metric in question. Įarly research concerning consumer activity trackers has focussed on device accuracy and validity. ![]() From 2010 to 2015, Fitbit sold over 38 million devices worldwide, and in 2017, it is estimated that healthcare wearable device sales will total 870 million US dollars. Typically, the trackers are worn on the wrist, and come with a smartphone app (and sometimes also online software) to allow users to track their activities relating to physical activity, sleep and sometimes diet, over a prolonged period. In the past 5 years, a wide variety of manufacturers and models have entered the consumer activity tracker market, such as Fitbit, Garmin and Jawbone. Wearable activity trackers offer considerable promise for assisting individuals to improve lifestyle behaviours such as physical activity, diet and sleep. ![]() Further efforts are needed to assist people to adopt healthier lifestyles. In addition, poor sleep quality and insufficient sleep quantity have been linked to neuroendocrine dysfunction, increasing the risk of obesity, stress, cardiovascular disease and mood disorders. They increase the risk of developing chronic health conditions - such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancers, depression and anxiety - leading to premature death and reduced quality of life. Physical inactivity and poor diet are leading modifiable causes of death and disease globally. Results suggest users find activity trackers appealing and useful tools for increasing perceived physical activity levels over a sustained period. Most users (70%) reported they had experienced functionality issues with their devices, most commonly related to battery life and technical difficulties. Participants reported they had improved their physical activity (51–81%) more commonly than they had their diet (14–40%) or sleep (11–24%), and slightly more participants reported to value the real time feedback (89%) compared to the long-term monitoring (78%). Participants typically used their trackers for sustained periods (5–7 months) and most intended to continue usage. Fitbit (67.5%) and Garmin devices (16.5%) were most commonly reported. Participants included 200 current and 37 former activity tracker users (total N = 237) with a mean age of 33.1 years (SD 12.4, range 18–74 years). Results were analysed descriptively, with differences between current and former users and wearable brands explored using independent samples t-tests, Mann-Whitney, and chi square tests. MethodsĪ cross-sectional online survey was developed and administered to Australian adults who were current or former activity tracker users. This study aimed to explore users’ experience of activity trackers, including usage patterns, sharing of data to social media, perceived behaviour change (physical activity, diet and sleep), and technical issues/barriers to use. ![]() Wearable activity trackers offer considerable promise for helping users to adopt healthier lifestyles. ![]()
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