Fitness trackers do not appear to improve health: Lancet report

The findings published in the journal The Lancet Di abetes and Endocrinology are based on a randomised trial involving 800 full-time workers. “Over the course of the year-long study, volunteers who wore the activity trackers recorded no change in their step count but moderately increased their amount of aerobic activity by an average of 16 minutes per week,” explained lead author Eric Finkelstein, Professor at Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School in Singapore. “However, we found no evidence that the device promoted weight loss or improved blood pressure or cardiorespiratory fitness, either with or without financial incentives,” Finkelstein said. This trial of economic incentives to promote physical activity (TRIPPA) was designed to assess the extent to which an activity tracker (in this case a Fitbit Zip worn on the waist) with and without cash or charitable incentives could increase physical activity and improve health outcomes among 800 participants (aged 21 to 65 years) recruited from 13 organisations in Singapore.