Your fitness tracker may be lying to you

If you’ve just done the workout of your life only to be told it really wasn’t that impressive by your fitness tracker, here is some good news for you. An investigation into four major fitness trackers has recently revealed that the devices can give a misleadingly low reading on the amount of energy expended during exercise.

Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia tested the Apple Watch, Fitbit Charge HR, Samsung Gear S and Mio Alpha, four tracking bands fitness enthusiasts often wear on their wrists, on 22 healthy volunteers both male and female who performed a variety of physical activities for an hour. They then tested the results on the fitness trackers against electrocardiograph measurements that were taken every 15 seconds and a gas analysis system that gave an accurate reading of calories burned.

The results suggest that your fitness tracker may not be giving you enough credit for your hard work in the gym. While the fitness trackers did a good job of measuring a person’s heart rate, the estimated energy expenditure was way off the mark and lower than in reality.

“None of the devices proved to be consistently more accurate overall and the percentage error for energy expenditure was between 9 per cent and 43 per cent,” said student Matthew Wallen, who ran the tests.

For many the fitness tracker is gospel and a massive motivator in their bid to lose weight, but these results suggest they should be taken with a pinch of salt. The good news is that you may be fitter than you think.