When Wearable Fitness Trackers Go Too Far, You Lose

by Monica Joshi

Once upon a time we ran because we loved it. We got an endorphin rush and were happy in the knowledge that we had just worked out. However, that didn't seem to be enough for us in our technologically savvy universe. We had to measure it: our heart rate, how many steps we took and even how our pH balance was affected because of the exercise.

A company, Athos, plans to go even further and launch fitness clothes that measure muscle activity, heart rate and respiration in real time. Its marketing material encourages consumers to “upgrade” and become “the ideal version” of themselves. In doing so, Athos clearly reveals its transhumanist stance: the idea that technology will take our species to the next evolutionary stage.

Another example of our insanely technologically-crazed fitness society is that the jeans manufacturer Levi Strauss & Co, Google is developing clothing that interacts with your devices. As it has touch-sensitive surfaces, the garments will be able to monitor weight gain, understand your gestures, make phone calls and more.

The real question, however, is: How do we feel about measuring our every move to check whether or not we are fit enough?

In a recently conducted study with 200 women who wore a Fitbit activity tracker. It revealed that most users embraced the devices as part of themselves and stopped treating it as an external technology. With 89% of participants wearing it almost constantly, they were only taking it off to recharge the battery.

Most women in the study believed it was important to quantify their daily activities (88%) and checked their progress dashboard more than twice a day (84%). The Fitbit was also an active participant in the construction of everyday life as it had a profound impact on the women’s decision-making in terms of their diet, exercise and how they travelled from one place to another. Almost every participant took a longer route to a destination simply to increase the number of steps they took (91%) and amount of weekly exercise (95%) they did. Most increased their walking speed to reach their Fitbit targets faster (56%). There was also a change in eating habits to more healthy food, smaller portion sizes and fewer takeaways (76%).

For many, the FitBit was seen as a friend who helps them reach their targets (68%). Reaching the daily targets created feelings of happiness (99%), self-satisfaction (100%), pride (98%) and motivation (98%). A good day where the targets were reached made those studied like Fitbit more (96%). Most (77%) would even go back home to fetch their Fitbit if they had left without it.

More alarming, many felt under pressure to reach their daily targets (79%) and that their daily routines were controlled by Fitbit (59%). Add to this that almost 30% felt that Fitbit was an enemy and made them feel guilty, and suddenly this technology doesn’t seem so perfect.

Fitness and activity trackers as we know them may also soon be surpassed by biometric wristbands that can measure what is going on inside your body. Researchers at Echo Labs are currently working on a biometric band that can measure your oxygen, CO2, PH, hydration and blood pressure levels via optical signals.

In addition, there are even several initiatives underway to create implantable technologies, that could essentially augment human biology. Internal microchips and digital tattoos could replace smart wristbands, payment devices and the like in the next few years.

So really, while wearable technologies can have a positive impact on the way we lead our lives by giving us insight into ourselves and enabling us to interact in new ways, it is also clear that when we invite technology onto or into our bodies, we have to be willing to share everyday decision making. As wearable fitness technology crunch out our every move, we will increasingly be told what to do and how best to behave and communicate with others.

It would also be interesting to see if the FitBit or any other wearable fitness technology is actually useful in the long-term in terms of its health benefits.

Rather than focus on the negatives, Dr. Daniel Kraft says that we should "Own your own health". Exciting new technologies with major health care implications are emerging. 3D printing, diagnostic apps, new forms of data analysis — these are all tools that democratize health care for consumers. In this video interview, Kraft shows off some of the emerging tools that fit in his pocket and demonstrates how exponential technology is about to change the ways we take care of ourselves.