Wearable Technology and Weight Loss
Posted: 2016-10-04
An NHS Choices article, Fitness Trackers 'Don't Help You Lose Weight', provides a critique of a recent JAMA study that compared weight loss levels between a standard behavioural weight loss intervention (low calorie diet, promotion of physical activity and counselling sessions) with the same counselling intervention along with a commercially available wearable technology device to monitor diet and physical activity in 470 adults with BMIs between 25-40 randomized to the interventions. Over the two-year period the group wearing the device demonstrated less weight loss, 3.5 kg (95%Cl, 2.6 to 4.5) in the wearable technology intervention group and 5.9 kg (95%Cl, 5.0 to 6.8) in the standard intervention group; difference, 2.4 kg (95%Cl, 1.0 to 3.7); P=0.002).