Medical Minute: Smartwatch Health Tracking Accuracy, Concerns

Millions of people rely on smartwatches and gadgets like Fitbit to monitor their health, but new research shows these devices may not be as accurate as you think. Harvard Health reports that about one in five people use smart devices to track metrics like steps, calories, heart rate, and even sleep. While these gadgets can help increase physical activity, there are limitations.

Benefits of Smart Watches

Studies show that people who use smart devices for health tracking increase their physical activity by an additional 50 minutes per week and take an extra 1,200 steps daily. Smart watches can also detect potential health issues, such as irregular heartbeats, which can lead to early detection of more serious conditions.

Accuracy Issues and Skin Tone Discrepancies

However, not all users receive the same level of accuracy from these devices. Dr. Vanessa Volpe, a psychologist at North Carolina State University, led a study that examined how smart watches perform on different skin tones.

“They’re good starting points, but they don’t work the same way for everyone,” she noted.

Volpe explained that smartwatches use green light, which is sent through the skin and reflected back to sensors. This light can reflect differently on varying skin tones, especially on people with darker skin.

"If you have more melanin in your skin, then light will not penetrate and be reflected back to the same degree," Volpe said. This could result in inaccurate readings for heart rate, blood pressure, and irregular heart rhythms. In some cases, only half the signal may be reflected back for people of color.

Volpe sees this issue as part of a larger problem in the medical field’s failure to fully consider the impact of race on health technology. She hopes her research will help address racial disparities in healthcare.

Privacy Concerns

Another downside to smart health tracking is privacy. Some data collected by these devices may be accessed by third parties. To protect your information, experts advise adjusting the default settings on fitness devices to prevent data sharing.

Smartwatches offer valuable tools for health monitoring, but users should be aware of potential inaccuracies and privacy risks, especially among those with darker skin tones.