Validity of FitBit, Jawbone UP, Nike+ and other wearable devices for level and stair walking

Publication date: July 2016
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 48
Author(s): Yangjian Huang, Junkai Xu, Bo Yu, Peter B. Shull
BackgroundIncreased physical activity can provide numerous health benefits. The relationship between physical activity and health assumes reliable activity measurements including step count and distance traveled. This study assessed step count and distance accuracy for Nike+ FuelBand, Jawbone UP 24, Fitbit One, Fitbit Flex, Fitbit Zip, Garmin Vivofit, Yamax CW-701, and Omron HJ-321 during level, upstairs, and downstairs walking in healthy adults.MethodsForty subjects walked on flat ground (400m), upstairs (176 steps), and downstairs (176 steps), and a subset of 10 subjects performed treadmill walking trials to assess the influence of walking speed on accuracy. Activity monitor measured step count and distance values were compared with actual step count (determined from video recordings) and distance to determine accuracy.ResultsFor level walking, step count errors in Yamax CW-701, Fitbit Zip, Fitbit One, Omron HJ-321, and Jawbone UP 24 were within 1% and distance errors in Fitbit Zip and Yamax CW-701 were within 5%. Garmin Vivofit and Omron HJ-321 were the most accurate in estimating step count for stairs with errors less than 4%. An important finding is that all activity monitors overestimated distance for stair walking by at least 45%.ConclusionIn general, there were not accuracy differences among activity monitors for stair walking. Accuracy did not change between moderate and fast walking speeds, though slow walking increased errors for some activity monitors. Nike+ FuelBand was the least accurate step count estimator during all walking tasks. Caution should be taken when interpreting step count and distance estimates for activities involving stairs.



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Somatosensory shift of postural control in dizzy patients.

Related Articles

Somatosensory shift of postural control in dizzy patients.

Acta Otolaryngol. 2015 Sep;135(9):925-30

Authors: Okumura T, Horii A, Kitahara T, Imai T, Uno A, Osaki Y, Inohara H

Abstract
CONCLUSIONS: Postural control is dependent on the visual system in normal conditions. Shift from visual to somatosensory dependence in dizzy patients suggests that utilizing the stable visual references is recommended for the rehabilitation of dizzy patients.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate which of the visual or somatosensory system is mainly used for substitution of the impaired spatial orientation in dizzy patients.
METHODS: We recruited 189 consecutive patients with or without dizziness and vestibular dysfunction. Dizzy patients were divided into three groups: acute, episodic, and chronic dizziness. Vestibular function was assessed by caloric test, traditional head impulse test, and head shaking nystagmus. Visual or somatosensory dependence of spatial orientation was assessed by posturography on a solid surface or on foam in eyes open or closed condition. The foam ratio (posturography with/without foam) when eyes were closed was indicative of somatosensory dependence of postural control, whereas the Romberg ratio on foam showed visual dependence. (Romberg ratio on foam)/(foam ratio with eyes closed) was calculated and used as an index of the visual/somatosensory dependence of postural control.
RESULTS: The visual/somatosensory ratio of postural control was significantly lower in dizzy patients as well as patients with vestibular dysfunction, however, no differences were found between acute, episodic, and chronic dizziness.

PMID: 25902903 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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