If you ’ve been swear on a Fitbit Surge or Charge HR to track your fondness charge per unit at the gymnasium , you might want to take those reading with a grain of table salt . concord to a late study [ PDF ] , Fitbit heart charge per unit readings may be both inaccurate and inconsistent . Not only do the biometric devices regularly develop incorrect heart rate version , the bailiwick claim , but two Fitbits used to measure one individual ’s nitty-gritty charge per unit are likely to produce different results .
Vocativexplains that researchers at California State Polytechnic University , Pomona tested out Fitbit ’s PurePulse essence rate monitoring technology by have 43 healthy grownup voluntary take in charge different forms of physical exertion while wear out both a Fitbit ( of either the Surge or Charge HR miscellany ) and an electrocardiogram . When researcher compared the version from the Fitbit and electrocardiogram , they found that Fitbit Reading were not only inaccurate , but that inaccuracy increased as participant heart rates rose . That imply that the more strenuous your workout , the less reliable your Fitbit reading become . Additionally , researcher found that two Fitbits immortalize the same nub charge per unit produce readings that varied by as much as eight pct .
The study explain , “ establish on our depth psychology of those readings , we conclude that the Fitbit PurePulse Trackers do not allow a valid measure of the users ’ center rate and can not be used to provide a meaningful estimate of a exploiter ’s heart rate , especially during moderate to high chroma exercise . ”
However , it ’s of import to note that the subject field was funded by a mathematical group of attorney who file a class - action mechanism causa against Fitbit . And , while the findings are enough to make anyone wary of their Fitbit bosom charge per unit reading , the sample size was small enough that you might need to wait for more research to go forth before you toss your Fitbit in the trash . In general , the subject field serves as an important reminder that many biometric devices and fitness apps should be confronted with a level of agnosticism . Most havenot been approvedby the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) and there ’s small guarantee the readings they provide are accurate . A dependable principle of pollex is to ask your doctor to recommend a equipment if there are real aesculapian reasons your readings need to be accurate . Otherwise , enjoy your biometric readings , but keep in mind they might not be the most accurate .
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