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How Acurate are Fitbits?

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smi7z
smi7z Posts: 2 Member
in Social Groups
Hey folks i am concerned about the accuracy of the calorytracking of my fit bit! When i am out at festivals it sometimes tells me i burned 8000 kcal which i can't really believe.
Any experience ?
Thanks :)

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  • coolcoolman1980
    coolcoolman1980 Posts: 101 Member
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    I don't trust it.
    The lifesum app gives similar calories back using fitbit.
    Only app that seems accurate is nutracheck
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    smi7z wrote: »
    Hey folks i am concerned about the accuracy of the calorytracking of my fit bit! When i am out at festivals it sometimes tells me i burned 8000 kcal which i can't really believe.
    Any experience ?
    Thanks :)

    Calorie tracking is based on your BMR based on gender, age, weight, height.
    Vast majority are easily within 5% of that calculated value.

    Calories for daily movement are based on distance (from steps & stride length) and weight and time (pace) and are very accurate formula for walking (and running actually).

    When the HR goes up above 90 usually with enough steps the HR-based calorie burn is used and that has many caveats to be a decent estimate.

    So 8000 for a day does seem high.
    But it was for walking - what distance did you go that day?

    And here's a case if you did a ton of steps above average, then an incorrect stride length can easily lead to inflated distance and therefore calorie burn.

    The farther you are away from average the more important tweaks are for accuracy.

    Like 15 min of exercise 3 x weekly which is inflated by say 100% is no big deal in an otherwise active lifestyle.

    But 90 min of exercise 6 x weekly in otherwise sedentary lifestyle now is a big deal of inaccuracy to the big picture.

    Ever walked a known distance say 1/2 to 1 mile at 2mph and confirmed the distance is right?
    That test might show your stride length is way off, and if you walked all day, then inflated calorie burn would be no surprise.

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