Fitness trackers have become quite popular in recent years. Having a device that can give you accurate stats about your heart rate, distance traveled, as well as how many calories you may have burnt can be a great tool for health. These stats help people devise their own fitness routines and according to the data they get. However, are these stats reliable? A new study says that fitness trackers aren't good at measuring how active people with obesity really are. This is because people with extra weight walk differently, have different speeds, and burn energy in unique ways. This means their fitness devices don't give them correct readings, according to researchers writing in Scientific Reports. Why Current Trackers Miss the Mark Most fitness trackers are designed for people who don't have obesity. Because of this, they don't give accurate information to those who do. For example, trackers worn on the hip often give wrong energy burn readings because people with obesity have a different way of walking and might wear the device at an angle. While wrist-worn trackers are generally better, they haven't been properly tested and set up for people with obesity. A New, More Accurate Solution The research team has now created a new calculation that allows smartwatches to more precisely track calories burned by people with obesity. Tests in a lab setting show this new method is over 95% accurate in real-world situations. Without a reliable way to measure activity from wrist devices, it's hard to know exactly how active people with obesity are each day. This makes it difficult to create personalized health programs and improve their health. Testing and Open-Source Availability The team put their new algorithm through rigorous testing, comparing it against multiple other advanced methods for estimating exertion. They used research-grade fitness trackers and wearable cameras to precisely identify moments when wrist sensors misjudged calorie burn. In one part of the study, participants wore a fitness tracker and a special mask that measured energy burn by tracking the oxygen they breathed in and the carbon dioxide they breathed out. In another part, participants wore a fitness tracker and a body camera during their daily routines. The research also involved having people do standard exercises that were adjusted for their weight, like wall push-ups instead of floor push-ups. This showed that current "standard" workouts often exclude many people, and it's important to rethink how success is measured in fitness so that everyone's hard work is recognized. The next step is to release an activity-monitoring app for Apple and Android smartwatches that will use this new calculation. Importantly, this calculation is open source, meaning other researchers can freely use it and build upon it. The team noted that, to their knowledge, no other similar open-source calculation has been made available for commercial wrist-worn devices. Some Other Ways Fitness Trackers Can Aid Your Health While the calories count may not be as accurate as we hope, there are many other ways fitness trackers can aid our health. The Brown Health University explains that these fitness trackers can Monitor your Heart Health Many fitness trackers can monitor your pulse and heart rate during exercise. This allows you to target specific heart rate zones, helping you get the most out of your workouts. Trackers are also a great way to ensure you hit that recommended 30 minutes of daily activity. Track Your Sleep If you're aiming for better sleep, a fitness tracker can be a useful tool. While it can't replace a full medical sleep study, a tracker with sleep monitoring uses sensors to detect your heart rate and its variations, which helps determine if you're asleep or awake. Connect with Other Health Apps Your wearable fitness tracker can easily connect with a variety of other health-related apps on your smartphone. This makes it simple to keep track of your progress on the go. You can check off daily habits, log your water intake, or record your workouts—all from your wrist.