Smartwatches and fitness trackers are widely used to monitor health metrics, but their calorie-tracking algorithms may have a notable blind spot. According to a new study, the accuracy of energy expenditure estimates drops significantly as a user's body fat percentage increases.
Most mainstream wearables use optical sensors and generalized formulas to calculate calories burned, relying on baseline data such as weight, height, and heart rate. However, variations in body composition appear to introduce challenges that standard device algorithms are not fully equipped to navigate during exercise.
This discrepancy means users relying on wearable trackers for weight management or fitness goals might receive skewed calorie data. While smartwatches remain valuable tools for tracking activity trends and heart rate, their calorie-burn figures should generally be treated as rough estimates rather than absolute measurements.
Check the original report on The Conversation for full details and findings from the study.
