A scientific study stated that many who are interested in tracking their physical fitness and the number of steps and kilometers that they travel daily and who rely on tracking devices and wristwatches for these purposes can be exposed to deception due to the inaccuracy of some of these tools.
According to the study, a number of fitness trackers were analyzed in the calculation of the marathon, as some of them found that they scored wrong accounts for a race distance of about 18 km.
The experiments of the study, which was conducted at the mandate of the Commodity Control and Consumer Protection Authority in Britain, used a different walking device to compare the ability of different tracking devices to record the steps and distance traveled.
In its recommendations, the study urged the necessity for the consumer to investigate any device before purchasing, warning that buying a famous brand does not require that it means a guarantee of accuracy.
Natalie Hitchens, Head of Home Products and Services at the Consumer Protection and Supervision Authority said, “The results of the study indicated that a number of models from well-known brands cannot be trusted when it comes to measuring distance, so it is necessary to make sure, before buying, that a reliable product is chosen. on him".
In response to the published research results, some companies highlighted that their models used in the experiment are not equipped with GPS, and therefore the device recommended for use by marathon runners was not.
Other companies, whose models of their production were referenced in the study, went on to explain that test results may differ depending on test conditions such as internal and external environments and individual runner differences.
She pointed out that the individual differences are due to the difference in the length of the user's step that the accelerometer sensor monitors during operation at different speeds, and therefore the speed and the length of the step and whether the user is inside a hall or an open location leads to different results according to the algorithm used for each product.