Losing weight isn’t always easy. This doesn’t involve crash diets. If you want to be healthy, then it’s time to think about your lifestyle. Making that big change can be the most challenging one yet because it means that you need to make changes to your habits.
However, there may be a solution that not too many people have considered. Right now, smart watches serve more than just the purpose of telling time. These have become fitness trackers as well, and for some, it has forced them to practice healthier lifestyles.
Yes, wearing a fitness tracker may push you to walk up to as much as 40 minutes more every day. You just want to get those steps in and take pride in what comes out in the tracker. Because of such changes, many have reported to losing 2.2 pounds in weight in just a few months. This was according to a large study recently made, and while this may not seem like much, they have lost weight without even putting in that much of an effort.
The new analysis made looked into studies that involved a total of 164,000 people from all four corners of the globe. All of them used the fitness tracker and the researchers studied the results. The data they came up with showed how this relatively affordable type of intervention came with some added benefits.
The team from the University of South Australia looked into a total of 400 studies and reviewed them carefully. Their goal was to demonstrate wearable activity trackers (WATs) and how these could prevent a variety of health conditions that is brought about by not exercising or lack of it.
The lead researcher of the study published the findings in Lancet Digital Health. He said that there is widespread skepticism about the efficacy and accuracy of WATs. They also wanted to see if these simple modern-day gadgets promoted obsessive behaviors and eating disorders. However, they saw that it was actually not the case. WATs promoted positive behaviors.
“Wearable activity trackers are effective across all age groups and for long periods of time,” said doctoral candidate Ty Ferguson. “They encourage people to exercise on a regular basis, to make it part of their routine—and to set goals to lose weight.”
“The other reported benefit is that WATs improved depression and anxiety through an increase in physical activity,” Ferguson also added.
Professor Carol Maher, co-author of the paper, also said, “Bearing in mind these were not weight loss studies, but lifestyle physical activity studies, so we wouldn’t expect dramatic weight loss. The average person gains about 0.5 kg a year in weight creep so losing 1kg (2.2 lb) over five months is significant, especially when you consider that two-thirds of Australians are overweight or obese.”
Activity trackers are certainly gaining traction in the market. Between the years 2014 and 2020, a good number of them had been shipped worldwide and the numbers increased by almost 1500 percent. In fact, the number of purchases in 2020 was worth a whopping $2.8 billion.
Aside from weight loss, there is proof that fitness trackers help bring blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Fitness wearables are available in most online shops with prices that suit your budget. You can now consider making a purchase if you’re seriously thinking about personal health.
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