【】

Most fitness trackers keep a fair number of the same stats: things like steps taken, distance traveled, and, of course, calories burned. But how accurate is the calorie counter on a Fitbit?
The quick answer: Definitely not 100 percent accurate. The slightly longer answer: It's not perfect, but no calorie counter is and Fitbit is likely as good as any.
A 2017 study found the Fitbit Surge had a median error of 27 percent when counting calories burned. At face value, that seems like a lot of error. But it was actually one of the best-performing trackers among the devices tested at the time, which included the Apple Watch, Basis Peak, Fitbit Surge, Microsoft Band, Mio Alpha 2, PulseOn, and Samsung Gear S2.
SEE ALSO: Best fitness trackers for monitoring heart rate
Prime Day deals you can shop right now
Products available for purchase here through affiliate links are selected by our merchandising team. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.iRobot Roomba Combo i3+ Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum and Mop—$329.99(List Price $599.99)
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9" 64GB Wi-Fi Tablet—$149.99(List Price $219.99)
Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen With MagSafe USB-C Charging Case—$168.99(List Price $249.00)
Eero 6 Dual-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (Router + 2 Extenders)—$149.99(List Price $199.99)
Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS, 41mm, Midnight, S/M, Sports Band)—$299.00(List Price $399.00)
Now, to be clear, that study was five years ago and one assumes wearable technology has improved in the interim. A study in 2019, however, found that trackers were still off. Aberystwyth University researchers found a Fitbit Charge 2 overestimated calorie burn from a walk by 53.5 percent. However, at a jogging pace, the Fitbit was very accurate, under-predicting energy use by just 4.3 percent.
Given all the errors, the best way to process a calorie count from a Fitbit is to not treat it as gospel. Give it a good chance at being right. Make sure your height, weight, gender, and age data are correct, because those contribute to your calorie output. Fitbit's calorie data is useful when comparing your own figures and activity levels to past days — even if it's not perfectly accurate, it will always be wrong the same way. That's how I use my Fitbit Inspire 2, and I really enjoy it.
Tweet may have been deleted
"Activity trackers definitely have a role to play in improving health," said Dr. Rhys Thatcher, a researcher at Aberystwyth, in a press release about the study cited earlier. "We all like to see ourselves progress; you have to interpret the data coming out of them with care — they are not direct measurements. However, they can be useful to compare what you’re doing today with what you did yesterday, what you’re doing this week compared to last week, so you can see progression."
SEE ALSO:Best fitness trackers
Stanford University recently developed a wearable that it claims is far better at calculating calorie burn. The pitch? It goes on your leg, instead of relying on wrist and heart rate data. Legs are, obviously, much more involved in how much we move than our wrists. But it also has two sensors, a hip pack, wires, and straps that go around your legs, which might be great for athletes but not for regular consumers.
So until wearables are totally revamped, understand your Fitbit is not perfect at counting calories, but it can give you a good baseline.
TopicsFitbitHealth
相关文章
Tourist survives for month in frozen New Zealand wilderness after partner dies
A tourist from the Czech Republic, whose partner fell to his death, survived a harrowing month in th2025-04-06Chris Rock is set to star in 'Fargo' Season 4, premiering in 2019
Fargohas Chris Rock booked to star in its upcoming fourth season, but that's not even the exciting p2025-04-06Take a mental swim with these live marine life cams
This post is part ofHard Refresh,a soothing weekly column where we try to cleanse your brain of what2025-04-06- Uber's self-driving truck program feels like it just took off, but after a court trial and several m2025-04-06
Is Samsung's Galaxy Note7 really the best phone?
On this week's。 MashTalk 。, Lance, Pete and I talk about the new hot smartphone in town: Samsung's Ga2025-04-06Chris Hardwick gets to go back to work after an AMC investigation
Chris Hardwick will be allowed to return to his role as the host of Talking Deadafter The Walking De2025-04-06
最新评论