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Abstract
ObjectivesWearable fitness devices are increasingly being used by the general population, with many new applications being proposed for healthy adults as well as for adults with chronic diseases. Fewer, if any, studies of these devices have been conducted in healthy adolescents and teenagers, especially over a long period of time. The goal of this work was to document the successes and challenges involved in 5 years of a wearable fitness device use in a pediatric case study.Materials and methodsComparison of 5 years of step counts and minutes asleep from a teenaged girl and her father.ResultsAt 60 months, this may be the longest reported pediatric study involving a wearable fitness device, and the first simultaneously involving a parent and a child. We find step counts to be significantly higher for both the adult and teen on school/work days, along with less sleep. The teen walked significantly less towards the end of the 5-year study. Surprisingly, many of the adult’s and teen’s sleeping and step counts were correlated, possibly due to coordinated behaviors.DiscussionWe end with several recommendations for pediatricians and device manufacturers, including the need for constant adjustments of stride length and calorie counts as teens are growing.ConclusionWith periodic adjustments for growth, this pilot study shows these devices can be used for more accurate and consistent measurements in adolescents and teenagers over longer periods of time, to potentially promote healthy behaviors.
Highlights
AND SIGNIFICANCEWearable fitness devices are increasingly being used by the general population
A recent study estimates that 19% of Americans currently use a wearable fitness device[1] and an additional 15% of Americans stated they no longer used a fitness tracker, which raises a question on their long-term use
We discovered several interesting correlations in these data, with the teen in high school walking less than the adult, both walking significantly less on weekends and holidays, correlated step counts on weekends, and correlated sleep
Summary
Wearable fitness devices are increasingly being used by the general population. A recent study estimates that 19% of Americans currently use a wearable fitness device[1] and an additional 15% of Americans stated they no longer used a fitness tracker, which raises a question on their long-term use. While many consumers likely use these devices to track general health and wellness parameters, there have been several attempts to VC The Author(s) 2021.
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