Don’t be so quick to attribute all of your weight loss success to fancy fitness trackers keeping up with your every step.
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In a new study, researchers followed adults who were on a diet wore their fitness trackers for several months. The results showed that those adults lost fewer pounds during that time than adults who didn’t wear the activity monitors.
The finding is interesting considering that many people purchase technologies like Fitbits to make sure they’re staying active and eating the right amount of calories to lose weight.
Nearly 500 men and women between ages 18 and 35, who were also overweight, participated in the study. Researchers weighed each of them and noted their overall health prior to the experiment.
Initially, over six months, the participants stuck to a low-calorie diet and weekly activity regimen that researchers detailed would provide steady weight loss.
All of the participants lost weight over those six months. Then, researchers split everyone into two groups – one group kept a daily log on the study website while the other group wore activity monitors on their arms.
Over the course of 18 months, the people who didn’t wear fitness trackers were about 13 pounds thinner than before the study.
Participants wearing the monitors had, in fact, regained some of the weight they’d lost prior to the experiment.
“People may have focused on the technology and forgotten to focus on their behaviors,” said Dr. John Jakicic, the study’s lead author.
Technology is here to assist us, but not take over our responsibilities for us.
The study showed that fitness trackers aren’t the one-stop solution to weight loss. They are simply there to assist.
But without behavioral changes, such as exercising more and eating healthier meals, the tracker won’t lead to any changes.
“What these results say to me is that we still have a great deal to learn,” Dr. Jakicic said.
Technology isn’t going to do the work for us.
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