Fitbit Getting Sued

Colorscheme
Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
edited January 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
A lot of us have Fitbits, so I thought this was worth mentioning.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/01/lawsuit-claims-fitbit-devices-dangerously-underestimate-heart-rate/

Personally, I don't understand how something that doesn't have a chest strap can one hundred percent be accurate with heart rate monitoring. Also, Fitbits aren't meant to replace a doctor, and I wish consumers would understand this.

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Replies

  • Kvm11628
    Kvm11628 Posts: 7,386 Member
    People are so ridiculously litigious. It's an estimate. I use any non-chest strap monitor as an estimate - and a lowered estimate. If someone feels the need to get calories to an EXACT number burned, I think there are bigger obsessive issues there.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    kimvmajor wrote: »
    People are so ridiculously litigious. It's an estimate. I use any non-chest strap monitor as an estimate - and a lowered estimate. If someone feels the need to get calories to an EXACT number burned, I think there are bigger obsessive issues there.

    Agreed. I use mine as a general guide. Mine is a Charge and it doesn't even have an HR feature, which I don't mind. It gets me moving more and that's all I care about.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Interesting. I think it over estimates. But come on. There's no chest strap. What do folks expect? Magic?
  • harrybananas
    harrybananas Posts: 292 Member
    Agreed!! I have a fitbit HR and do not rely or put much weight into the numbers that it provides. The only numbers that I would pay attention to is when I activate its workout mode where it records all the stats during the workout. Outside of that, I don't pay much attention the Fitbit HR stats.

    It isn't surprising how many many people take number of the band at face value. There's no way it's accurate to the T and on every metric. Even relying on it as an estimate I still come to be skeptical.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    realityfades wrote: »
    ...how something that doesn't have a chest strap can one hundred percent be accurate with heart rate monitoring.

    ECG based HR monitoring isn't 100% accurate either. They're similarly vulnerable to error, particularly in the higher aerobic and anaerobic ranges.

  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    edited January 2016
    It's pretty interesting. I did a quick test, and my fitbit's HR estimation is pretty close to my pulse (carotid pulse 64, fitbit pulse 64).
  • mattyc772014
    mattyc772014 Posts: 3,543 Member
    I saw this too. Use a Fitbit Surge. Just as an estimate. Its fun doing the challenges etc. but its my body that tells me more about how I should feel. Not just numbers. Remember when Apple had antennagate. lol
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    realityfades wrote: »
    ...how something that doesn't have a chest strap can one hundred percent be accurate with heart rate monitoring.

    ECG based HR monitoring isn't 100% accurate either. They're similarly vulnerable to error, particularly in the higher aerobic and anaerobic ranges.

    True. I actually have a loop recorder implanted so my boyfriend and I like to make jokes than I am bionic and have constant HRM that gets transmitted to a doctor's office at 2 am. I have arrythmia issues, though.
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    edited January 2016
    It is ridiculous.
    It is not perfect, but does a great job, at least for me.
    It is the best motivator I have to get me to move more, and that is all good.

  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    its a guide.

    nothing more, nothing less
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    snowflake930 wrote: »
    It is ridiculous.
    It is not perfect, but does a great job, at least for me.

    Given that the marketing claims it's useful for many things that it's wholly inappropriate for I can, in some ways, see a case for advertising standards involvement.
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    snowflake930 wrote: »
    It is ridiculous.
    It is not perfect, but does a great job, at least for me.

    Given that the marketing claims it's useful for many things that it's wholly inappropriate for I can, in some ways, see a case for advertising standards involvement.

    This. I think they bit themselves with the way they're advertising it. I personally use it to give me an idea of what's happening during my workout, and I prefer it more for an overall look at my day.
  • CurlyCockney
    CurlyCockney Posts: 1,394 Member
    There was a programme on TV tonight that tested Fitbits and other trackers Vs smart watches Vs free phone apps, and the phone apps were just as accurate as the trackers. The smart watches were more accurate for the serious athletes, but none of them were really accurate. If you can see BBC iPlayer, the prog was called What To Buy And Why.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Interesting. I think it over estimates. But come on. There's no chest strap. What do folks expect? Magic?

    Yes, everyone expects magic. Plus, lawsuits seem to be the most popular American past time.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    auddii wrote: »
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Interesting. I think it over estimates. But come on. There's no chest strap. What do folks expect? Magic?

    Yes, everyone expects magic. Plus, lawsuits seem to be the most popular American past time.

    Some lawusits are warranted, some are not. This is not a warranted one, imo.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    kimvmajor wrote: »
    People are so ridiculously litigious. It's an estimate. I use any non-chest strap monitor as an estimate - and a lowered estimate. If someone feels the need to get calories to an EXACT number burned, I think there are bigger obsessive issues there.
    Mhm, this whole thing seems so silly. We do have a culture that lacks personal responsibility on the whole so I'm not surprised.
  • Clobern80
    Clobern80 Posts: 714 Member
    It's a stupid lawsuit. People are so money-hungry and don't want to work for it. It works great for what it is meant to be.
  • Protranser
    Protranser Posts: 517 Member
    Hmmm. Is it really inaccurate? I'm thrilled with the results i have now, and i want to believe my fitbit charge hr had a significant place in helping me determine my tdee. Is the concern that the hr is low balling the numbers? My tdee is even higher than i thought?

    Jeez. Maybe i really have been pushing too hard. I don't regret anything I've been doing for the sake of wellness.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
    It's tool and its being sued by tools.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    Protranser wrote: »
    Hmmm. Is it really inaccurate? I'm thrilled with the results i have now, and i want to believe my fitbit charge hr had a significant place in helping me determine my tdee. Is the concern that the hr is low balling the numbers? My tdee is even higher than i thought?

    Jeez. Maybe i really have been pushing too hard. I don't regret anything I've been doing for the sake of wellness.

    I don't think it is terrible inaccurate, but I don't have the HR ones.
  • brendak76
    brendak76 Posts: 241 Member
    I wonder if the people who gained weight with the Fitbit noticed they were actually eating more? If I went from say 1600 calories to 2300 because the Fitbit told me I could, I'd notice!
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    I was a Fitbit supporter for years. But my test results were similar to the doctor in the study. I was just comparing the Charge HR and Surge to a Polar HRM. So for me it wasn't useful.

    The doctor reportedly found that for heart rates above 110 bpm, the Fitbits were off by an average of 25 bpms, with some readings wrong by as much as 75 bpm.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    According to the article, some of the estimates are off between 25-75 bpm, that's not good for a company who in their statement said that their product is designed to provide meaningful data to help people reach their health and wellness goals. It's not really meaningful data when it's off by that much.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    WalkingAlong wrote: »
    I was a Fitbit supporter for years. But my test results were similar to the doctor in the study. I was just comparing the Charge HR and Surge to a Polar HRM. So for me it wasn't useful.

    The doctor reportedly found that for heart rates above 110 bpm, the Fitbits were off by an average of 25 bpms, with some readings wrong by as much as 75 bpm.

    There is a lot of meaningful data other then heart rate, steps, distance traveled, TDEE, as well as tracking how much you have consumed are all things the fitbit app/monitor does for you. Mine seems to be pretty accurate, non hr charge, I use it to decide how many calories to eat in a day, without all of the information it provides maintenance weight would be a dang nightmare, Id be stuck in constant over/under eating cycles.
  • LHWhite903
    LHWhite903 Posts: 208 Member
    I have a classmate who wants one of those for herself and for her mother. I wish I had her e-mail to send her this information.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    LHWhite903 wrote: »
    I have a classmate who wants one of those for herself and for her mother. I wish I had her e-mail to send her this information.

    Well I guess all information is good, but the very vast majority of people who use the fitbit find the information it gives them to be reasonably accurate and handy.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
    My Fitbit doesn't register at all during interval training. It stops recording, starts over at about 85 bpm, cuts of at 140, then repeats the cycle throughout the workout. At the end, everything averages out in terms of calorie burn. I don't rely on it solely, I go by perceived exertion. And I don't plan on suing even with my family history of heart disease.
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
    jeepinshawn wrote: »
    LHWhite903 wrote: »
    I have a classmate who wants one of those for herself and for her mother. I wish I had her e-mail to send her this information.

    Well I guess all information is good, but the very vast majority of people who use the fitbit find the information it gives them to be reasonably accurate and handy.

    The thing is people should do their own independent research before choosing any activity or heart rate monitor. I use both depending on what I am doing. But I certainly wouldn't depend on either one if I wanted 100% accurate numbers. I would worry if my heart rate was 25-75 bpm off though and I wasn't aware of it during a hard core bike ride where I was really pushing it because I wouldn't want to pass out on the bike path or on the road.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    1princesswarrior wrote: »
    jeepinshawn wrote: »
    LHWhite903 wrote: »
    I have a classmate who wants one of those for herself and for her mother. I wish I had her e-mail to send her this information.

    Well I guess all information is good, but the very vast majority of people who use the fitbit find the information it gives them to be reasonably accurate and handy.

    The thing is people should do their own independent research before choosing any activity or heart rate monitor. I use both depending on what I am doing. But I certainly wouldn't depend on either one if I wanted 100% accurate numbers. I would worry if my heart rate was 25-75 bpm off though and I wasn't aware of it during a hard core bike ride where I was really pushing it because I wouldn't want to pass out on the bike path or on the road.

    I'd think at some point common sense would kick in, though. If my heart was beating out of my chest, I had blurry vision, felt dizzy and was about to puke, I wouldn't keep pushing just because my HRM said I was good.
  • beertrollruss
    beertrollruss Posts: 276 Member
    I wish the Fitbit Charge HR manual came with the package. I learned some things about the heart rate after I found the Charge HR 101 pdf. The device should fit loosely on the wrist about an inch from the wrist toward the elbow. When exercising, it's recommended to move the device 2 inches from the wrist. It's also recommended to keep the device dry and not wear it in the shower. For someone with a large wrist like my buddy, he should get the XL version. Unfortunately, the XL version is only available through the Fitbit website.

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