Utilizing a wearable activity tracker to monitor and increase daily steps taken can decrease the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, and obesity. Medical professionals could benefit from integrating health monitors and commercially available wearable activity trackers with electronic health records to tailor physical activity to a patient’s risk profile and clinical characteristics.
A study analyzed health data and activity from over 6,000 individuals who wore Fitbit activity trackers for at least 10 hours daily and provided access to their electronic health records for four years. The study compared disease occurrences in the overall population with individuals wearing Fitbits.
Taking over 8,200 daily steps can protect against major depressive disorder, gastroesophageal reflux disease, sleep apnea, and obesity. Increasing daily steps from 6,000 to 11,000 can reduce obesity risk for overweight people by 64%. However, the risk of diabetes and hypertension did not decrease further after individuals reached approximately 8,000 to 9,000 daily steps.
The participants were between 41 and 67 years old with body mass indices ranging from a healthy weight to obese. They were mostly white, female, and had a college degree.
While individuals wearing Fitbits are usually more active, the study’s strong associations between steps and disease indicate even stronger associations in a more sedentary sample. The study’s results provide a necessary first step toward creating personalized activity prescriptions, according to researchers. Wearables can encourage exercise by enabling fitness goals to be set, measured, and tracked.
