The attention given Apple's new smartwatch and Health app has brought the debate center stage over whether wearable activity trackers conform to best evidence-based practices—and whether they work as promised. Authors of a just-published study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research concluded that many trackers do use evidence-based behavior techniques. But they remained unsure about whether those techniques effectively translate to better health and wellness.
The researchers examined 13 wearable activity trackers and their accompanying smartphone applications, including popular products from companies like Jawbone, Nike and Withings, and categorized them according to their adherence to 93 evidence-based behavior change techniques such as “prompt review of behavioral goals” and “provid[ing] instruction.”