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SunSeeker

(51,550 posts)
Wed Sep 21, 2016, 03:44 AM Sep 2016

Activity Trackers May Undermine Weight Loss Efforts [View all]

Wearable activity monitors can count your steps and track your movements, but they don’t, apparently, help you lose weight. In fact, you might lose more weight without them.

The fascinating finding comes from a study published today in JAMA that found dieting adults who wore activity monitors for 18 months lost significantly fewer pounds over that time than those who did not.

Those who had not worn activity monitors were, on average, about 13 pounds lighter now than two years ago.
Those who had worn the monitors, however, weighed only about 8 pounds less than at the start.

The people using the monitors may also have assumed that, in some roundabout way, the technology removed responsibility from them for monitoring their energy intake, Dr. Jakicic says. “People may have focused on the technology and forgotten to focus on their behaviors” and ate too much, he says.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/well/activity-trackers-may-undermine-weight-loss-efforts.html

Who would have guessed your fitbit is keeping you fat?



26 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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If they didn't adjust diet then this is to be expected. hlthe2b Sep 2016 #1
Here's a first-person account Proud Public Servant Sep 2016 #2
Congrats on your success! woodsprite Sep 2016 #3
You are doing a great job! GreenPartyVoter Sep 2016 #7
Congratulations--that's an excellent accomplishment! Orrex Sep 2016 #20
Absolutely! My digital kitchen scale and my MFP food journal helped me lose 130lbs with my GreenPartyVoter Sep 2016 #5
Great job! (NT) Proud Public Servant Sep 2016 #9
Thanks! GreenPartyVoter Sep 2016 #14
I swear by MyFitnessPal reflection Sep 2016 #10
Consignment and thrift shops are the way to go. Donate your old stuff and get some new duds! GreenPartyVoter Sep 2016 #15
I finally got to the point where I couldn't "shop" from my closet anymore. woodsprite Sep 2016 #17
Ha! reflection Sep 2016 #19
Wonderful! Congratulations. Hugin Sep 2016 #12
Yeah, my activity tracker helped me track my activity Johonny Sep 2016 #25
gimmicks never work in the end Skittles Sep 2016 #4
It's only a gimmick if you pretend that exercise is more important than portion control. GreenPartyVoter Sep 2016 #6
Got one for my sister in law. linuxman Sep 2016 #8
Yes, that can happen if you don't know how to use it right. GreenPartyVoter Sep 2016 #16
I don't have a fitbit, but, I do have a fitness tracker. Hugin Sep 2016 #11
Having one has made me move around more. alarimer Sep 2016 #13
Not to be a shill for these things, but simply being lighter isn't what matters. kcr Sep 2016 #18
I agree that it is a combination of exercise and food intake, one without the other is hard to OnDoutside Sep 2016 #21
Trackers are unnecessary. Avalux Sep 2016 #22
I largely disagree with that. Yes, one needs to be in touch with one's body but there are so many OnDoutside Sep 2016 #23
Some of us are very bad at estimating food proportion and calorie burn. For me, GreenPartyVoter Sep 2016 #24
I used my tracker and the doctor said to keep doing what I was doing shenmue Sep 2016 #26
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