NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
Your Fitbit probably gets your heart rate wrong, claims new study
Fitness wearable company Fitbit Inc recently became the subject of a class action lawsuit that claimed that its devices are not as accurate as it claims, and now that lawsuit may have some evidence to back it up thanks to a new study by researchers at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
The researchers conducted a test using Fitbit PurePulse wearables on 43 healthy individuals. To determine the accuracy of the devices, the test subjects engaged in varying levels of physical activity, and the results of their Fitbit were compared to the results of an external heart rate monitor.
According to the researchers, the heart rate measured by the Fitbit was sometimes more than 20 beats per minute off of the rate measure by the other monitors, and the greater the level of physical activity, the more inaccurate the Fitbit wearables seemed to be.
“The PurePulse Trackers do not accurately measure a user’s heart rate, particularly during moderate to high intensity exercise, and cannot be used to provide a meaningful estimate of a user’s heart rate,” the researchers said.
While the study certainly seems to be damning of Fitbit’s accuracy, it is important to note that it was commissioned by the plaintiffs in the case against Fitbit, something that the company has been quick to point out in a particularly harsh statement that it released to Gizmodo.
“What the plaintiffs’ attorneys call a ‘study’ is biased, baseless, and nothing more than an attempt to extract a payout from Fitbit,” the company said in its statement. “It lacks scientific rigor and is the product of flawed methodology. It was paid for by plaintiffs’ lawyers who are suing Fitbit, and was conducted with a consumer-grade electrocardiogram – not a true clinical device, as implied by the plaintiffs’ lawyers. Furthermore, there is no evidence the device used in the purported ‘study’ was tested for accuracy.”
Fitbit said that its devices had undergone rigorous testing prior to being released to the market, and the company pointed to an independent study conducted by Consumer Reports, which rated Fitbit’s wearables as “excellent.”
Image courtesy of FitBit Inc
Since you’re here …
… We’d like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content.
If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.
