Apple Watch Series 6 and Other Wearables Track Calories Inaccurately: Research

A team of academics from the Université du Québec à Montréal recently put the Apple Watch Series 6, as well as the Polar Vantage V and Fitbit sense, to the test.

These researchers wanted to see whether these wearables could accurately measure energy expenditure and heart rate. The Polar H10 chest strap and the MetaMax 3B spiroergometer were utilized as reference devices for this study.

A total of 60 young people were picked, including 30 males and 30 women between the ages of 25.

Stronger by Science summarized studies published in the European Journal of Sport Science. It references the Apple Watch Series 6, Fitbit Sense, and Polar Vantage V to assess the participants’ heart rate and energy expenditure while sitting, walking, jogging, cycling, and doing resistance training.

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Based on their results, the study team found that these three wearables had low accuracy when monitoring energy expenditure for all five activities.

According to the study, health experts, athletes/coaches, and general fitness enthusiasts should not use the calorie readings from these three smartwatches “during the execution of an exercise training or dietary program” according to the study.

These findings seem consistent with those of earlier studies that sought to determine the reliability and validity of commercially available wearables and activity trackers.

On the other hand, the Apple Watch Series 6 was very precise when it came to recording heart rate across all activities.

According to reports, the Polar Vantage V and Fitbit Sense differ depending on the action. According to reports, these wearables also tracked step counts properly.