Do your clients swear by their wearable activity trackers? Do you encourage them to keep track? It turns out you have an ally that you could use in your program design. Activity trackers encourage people to walk up to 40 minutes more per day, leading to an average 2.2 pounds of weight loss over 5 months, according to a meta-analysis of studies that included more than 164,000 people worldwide.
University of South Australia researchers in Adelaide examined 39 systematic review studies. They found that wearing activity trackers led to increased physical activity, improved body composition and weight loss. However, no significant benefits were found for other health biomarkers or for quality of life and pain outcomes.
“The overall results from the studies we reviewed show that wearable activity trackers are effective across all age groups and for long periods of time,” said lead study author Ty Ferguson, a PhD candidate at UniSA. “They encourage people to exercise on a regular basis, to make it part of their routine and to set goals to lose weight.”
The research is reported in The Lancet Digital Health (2022; doi:10.1016/S2589-7500(22)00111-X).
See also: Fit Tech Data for Coaching Success
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