Modern technology has given people new tools needed to do almost everything, even tracking their daily physical activity progress. These fitness trackers or applications record a person's physical activity, such as the number of walks, heart rate, and many more.
Many tech companies compete every year in giving people the latest smartwatches that also act as fitness trackers. A study showed that it helps people in keeping up with their fitness goals.
Although its effect is considered small to moderate, it may still be worth offering fitness trackers to motivated patients to increase their daily physical activity by making them walk an extra mile.
Walk an Extra Mile
A study, recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, said that fitness trackers and applications are highly recommended to be prescribed to patients who are looking to get fitter. Moreover, it claims that a person tends to walk an extra mile each day if they have the tracker or app on their smartphone or smartwatch.
The researchers of the study have analyzed dozens of studies comparing the exercise habits of those not using any physical activity tracker and those who use the trackers or app. Overall, CNN reported that the studies involved 7,454 people.
They found that a person walks an average of 1,850 more steps if they are using a tracker or app, which is a significant increase in a person's daily physical activity. On the other hand, those who do not use the trackers or app takes about 2,000 steps to complete a mile.
Moreover, the fitness tracker and apps that include text-messaging that prompt its users on their physical activity record were more effective. An article in The Free Journal Press said that components, like goal setting, planning, and graded tasks by the degree of difficulty, were also related to greater levels of effectiveness.
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Increased Daily Physical Activity Leads to Decreased Risk of Diseases
Dr Liliana Laranjo, the lead author of the study, said that the increased daily physical activity due to fitness trackers help people lower their risks of developing risks on certain diseases, such as heart problem, diabetes, and some cancers. Besides, it can lower the risk of premature death from the mentioned diseases.
Indeed, the growing prevalence of using fitness trackers or apps, like the Apple Health software, and Fitbit smartwatches, have shown that they motivate people to move more than their daily exercise needs.
"Any increase in physical activity is good. It's not just when you reach 10,000 steps that something magic happens," Dr. Laranjo says.
But she also said that people need not buy expensive smartwatches because almost every smartphone now can be installed with fitness trackers and count the number of steps a person takes.
The researchers noted that a follow-up study must be conducted after a year or two to know if using fitness trackers have the same significant effect on the people using them, The Sydney Herald reported.
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