Does a Healthy Heart Start with Your Wrist?
Take a quick look around and you’re sure to see someone wearing a Fitbit® or similar device. You might even be wearing one yourself.
Over the past few years, the popularity of trackers has skyrocketed, and the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. But does wearing a device really help people stay more engaged in their fitness? And, considering this is American Heart Month, is it a smart solution for keeping people heart healthy?
Our team looked into these questions and discovered that how trackers work to help improve heart health depends on who’s using the device. Our research identified five distinct personas of people who use wearable tracking devices:
People with Chronic Conditions
This group tracks at a greater rate than all others and takes more action as a result of their tracking. Detailed, specific daily health reports on blood pressure, respiration, oxygen, sugar levels, and—you guessed it—heart rate and rhythmic patterns are all essential to managing health conditions.
Athletes
Athletes know that keeping a workout within a certain “optimal heart rate” not only increases endurance and performance but also maintains heart health. They desire a tracker that can measure their heart rate.
Weight Managers
Studies show that using a food diary can double a person’s weight loss.1 On the flip side, tracking calories burned is also very important, and these devices are an easy way to do it.
Caregivers and Their Dependents
Wearables for the elderly are especially valuable because they can allow people the freedom to live independently. In some cases, a tracking device that alerts their caregiver or doctor when they are in need through location, posture, and heart rate data may even replace expensive nursing home care.
People Undergoing Severe Change
Women who are pregnant, people attempting to lose a dramatic amount of weight, and people who are quitting smoking are just a few examples of people who can use trackers throughout a change. Some wearables can even track a fetus’ heartbeat as well as a pregnant mother’s.
So the short answer seems to be that wearables can be helpful in keeping your heart healthy—if you use them in a way that makes sense for your lifestyle.
From all of us at Fusion Hill, have a happy, healthy American Heart Month.
- Science Daily. Keeping a Food Diary Doubles Diet Weight Loss, Study Suggests. Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708080738.htm. Accessed February 10, 2017.
February 13, 2017 | Research
