Smartwatch Misreports Calorie Burn in Workouts
A study from FIU researchers indicates that popular smartwatches consistently overestimate calorie burn during exercise. The error margin is higher for individuals with more body fat, potentially leading to inaccurate weight management data.
Why it matters
Relying on inaccurate fitness tracker data can lead to health and weight management errors for millions of consumers.
If you're depending on your smartwatch to tell you the truth about how many calories you burned during a workout - well, don't.
Fitness trackers are great cheerleaders, delivering tiny doses of motivation with every celebratory chime, buzz and on-screen animation that marks a completed activity goal. But they are less reliable when it comes to measuring total energy expenditure during exercise.
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