People increasingly use Fitbits and other fitness trackers to help them reach their health goals. These products enable people to keep a record of how many calories they burn while engaging in physical activity.
But accuracy remains a question mark for many users: How Accurate is Fitbit Calorie Burn.
Fitbit and other fitness tracking devices are highly reliable in tracking steps taken, walking or running distance, and activity duration. However, their accuracy in estimating calorie burn can be limited.
Fitbits can give us an idea of our activity level and how many calories we use, but factors such as walking pace, body type/weight, exercise intensity/duration, nutrition, and hydration levels all have an impact on the accuracy of the data.
What is the Fitbit Calories Accuracy Percentage?
When measuring calorie burn, Fitbit takes into account factors like body size, weight, gender, and level of intensity of your activity.
Fitbits can be used to accurately measure calorie burn, though the accuracy of the device’s measurements can vary depending on individual physiological characteristics as well as external conditions like altitude or weather.
This means that it can be challenging for Fitbits to provide consistent and accurate accuracy in all contexts.
In general, Fitbit calories burned accurate percent is around 99 when calculating steps taken and only be 90-95% accurate in estimating how many calories burnt while engaging in a particular activity.
Calories burned can be affected not just by exercise but also by external variables like an individual’s energy output.
These factors can directly impact the accuracy of the calculations made when estimating how many calories one has burned.
Does Fitbit Track Calories Burned?
Fitbits are reliable when tracking basic fitness movements but should not be seen as a substitute for professional advice.
Think of them as an additional source of information that provides a broader view of your health and well-being.
Fitbit provides an estimation of how much energy you burn through exercise; however, if you are using a generic profile with no changes to personalize it for your body type and habits, the number may not be as accurate.
This is because the amount of energy burned varies between sources, such as when compared to a metabolic test conducted in person.
Therefore, there could be discrepancies between what Fitbit tells you and what other sources indicate.
Even if your device has been set on a custom profile, factors like low oxygen levels and cold temperatures can disrupt its accuracy in measuring your breath rate.
Therefore, consider verifying the results with professional testing when possible.
What Affects the Accuracy of Fitbit Calorie Count?
The accuracy of Fitbit calorie burn count is important for those who are interested in losing weight and to keep track of their basal metabolic rate.
The Fitbit uses a variety of accelerometers, GPS, and optical sensors to measure your physical activities throughout the day.
This data is then compared against previously collected data from other studies to give an accurate estimate of your daily activity level and the number of calories burned.
It should be noted, however, that there are some things that can affect the accuracy of how your Fitbit calculate calories burned:
Activity Level – The accuracy levels of the activity depending on its type and intensity.
For instance, intense workouts such as biking or running at high speeds might not be as accurate as walking or jogging since these activities involve different acceleration rates.
Additionally, how much you weigh can play a role since having more mass leads to burning more calories.
Gender/Age – Gender and age have an impact on accuracy levels.
Variations were found when analyzing test results from women and men from separate age groups.
Research has shown that even if different generations perform similar activities with the same speeds or intensities, older people may not get the same level of success as younger ones.
Location – If you are going to be participating in activities outdoors, keep in mind that changes in altitude can affect the numbers reported by your Fitbit.
These adjustments can result from terrain shifts or variations in air pressure within a given area. Therefore, if you move around a lot, you will notice fluctuations in the data your device collects.
Intensity & Duration: The duration and intensity of your workouts will directly impact the number of calories you burn.
To get an accurate reading of how much energy your workouts are expending, it’s important to take into account both length and intensity.
For example, longer and more intense workout sessions will burn calories faster than shorter workouts at lower intensities.
Ultimately, tracking your activities with a Fitbit device will ensure that you’re getting an accurate reading of your daily goals.
Diet & Hydration: If you want your Fitbit to track your energy expenditure while exercising or running errands accurately, it’s important to ensure you have a healthy diet and are properly hydrated.
Poor nutrition and dehydration can lead to lower energy levels during physical activities, so make sure you’re eating enough and drinking plenty of fluids to get the best results from your accurate fitness trackers. (e.g., Fitbit Surge)
Metabolism – Because individuals vary in terms of metabolic rate, which affects how many calories we burn during daily activities, your fitness tracker can not always be accurate.
Metabolism is the body’s process of turning food into energy, and its rate depends on a variety of factors such as age, gender, weight, genetics, and lifestyle habits.
Can you Improve the Accuracy of Fitbit Calorie Burn Count?
If you’ve decided to use a Fitbit to help keep and track your fitness, one of the features that can be helpful is to see how many calories you burn during the workouts.
However, sometimes this calorie-burn calculation can be off or inaccurate, leading to frustration when working out and trying to reach goals.
Here are some tips on how to improve the accuracy of the Fitbit counting calories burned.
1). Calibrate Daily Activities
Suppose you want to ensure an accurate estimate of how many calories you are burning each day.
In that case, providing your Fitbit’s algorithm with all the necessary details about your daily activities is important.
This information is essential for the algorithm’s calculations because, without it, your Fitbit will not be able to calculate a precise number of calories burned.
Inaccurate estimates from most accurate fitness trackers can also impact the estimated caloric expenditure from workout sessions.
2). Enter Exercises Accurately
When logging exercises into your account, it is important to select the activity correctly.
This will ensure your Fitbit has enough data points and can provide more accurate results.
For instance, running outside differs from running on a treadmill, and such differences are to consider for greater accuracy.
3). Check Your Resting Heart Rate
The accuracy of calorie burn results on a Fitbit device may depend on resting heart rate because doing this will help increase the accuracy of the data.
This rate can vary by age and certain medical conditions, so it is best to measure it every morning before getting up or while still at rest.
4). Track Food Intake Carefully
A Fitbit or other wearable tech tool can help you accurately track how many calories you burn. In order to do this effectively, it’s important to keep an eye on your food intake.
Knowing what goes into your body can increase your energy levels and lead to greater precision in calorie burn numbers from your wearable device.
Keeping track of daily meals and snacks can help accurately measure the calories burned from physical activity over time.
By knowing what fuel types have been consumed before and after physical exertion, one can better estimate the amount of energy they’ve used.
5). Adjust Wearable Device Securely
Experts suggest that wearing the fitness tracker close to the wrist but not too tight can give more accurate results.
This is because when pressure is applied to any part of the body, such as the forearm up towards the wrist, natural blood flow changes occur due to swellings and contractions in response to this pressure.
You may also read about Bellabeat vs Fitbit because both are the famous fitness trackers.
FAQs(Frequently Asked Questions)
1). Does gender or age affect the overall performance of your fitness tracker?
Gender and age can affect accuracy. Studies found variations in test results from men and women of different age groups. Even when performing activities at the same speed or intensity, the elderly may not be as successful as younger individuals.
2). How does diet affect your total calories count?
For optimal performance, ensure that your eating and drinking habits are good. Proper nutrition and staying hydrated will help you get the most out of your fitness trackers.
3). How does Calibrating Daily Activities improve the performance of Fitbit Calories Count?
Accurate readings are needed for a fitness tracker to calculate precise calorie burn.
Without the data, a Fitbit won’t work correctly. Incorrect estimates from trackers also affect estimated calories burned during exercise.
4). Should you keep track of resting heart rate?
The accuracy of Fitbit calorie burn depends on resting heart rate.
This can vary by age and medical conditions, so measure it in the morning before getting up or while still at rest.
5). Is Fitbit Calorie Burn Accurate?
Fitbit to a measure calories burnt during aerobic exercise:
- Overestimated calories burnt by 26 – 61% during walking.
- Underestimated calories burnt by 37 – 59% during cycling.
- Overestimated calories burnt by 25 – 39% during jogging
Conclusion
How Accurate is Fitbit Calorie Burn depends on some important components.
Fitbits can estimate a person’s daily activity and energy expenditure, but it’s important to consider certain factors.
Such factors affect their accuracies, such as walking pace, body type/weight, intensity/duration of exercise, nutritional intake, and hydration levels.
To get the most out of using a Fitbit tracker, remember to keep the elements mentioned above in mind when planning your fitness program!
