Are health apps and activity trackers so good for us?

Healthy eating and plenty of exercise; Being fit is the trend nowadays. And to show our efforts in the best possible way we use a large number of health apps and activity trackers. Handy, right? Well, not always. In this article I will go deeper into the advantages and disadvantages of these tools.

Measuring is knowing?
In recent years more and more digitally measurable. Just think about your personal data on the internet. But the fitness industry also makes clever use of this new option, with for example pedometers, fitness and diet apps and activity trackers. Chances are that you have tried an app such as a calorie counter or a running app.

Keeping track of your calories or using a pedometer can certainly provide valuable insights. Based on this you can create a SMART goal for yourself  . This ensures that you work effectively. A health app can therefore certainly be a valuable tool.



The effect of activity trackers and health apps on our behavior
We move too little. Most adults do not get the movement guidelines . Portable fitness trackers give us insight into our exercise pattern. Various studies have shown that fitness apps and activity trackers help to move more [1-4] . Keeping track of your diet in an app can help you to eat more consciously and healthier. The question is: for how long? Do you constantly keep track of your steps or keep your diet and are you motivated? Or do you really have to do more than just purchase an app or smartwatch?

In short: an activity tracker or health app can help you to exercise more or eat healthier. But you can also talk about this.

The adverse effects of health apps and activity trackers
The problem then lies in the problem. We 'work' on our health, sports performance or appearance. By making everything measurable, we can see whether or not we achieve our goals. We regularly see people losing pleasure when they make everything measurable.

After all, how do you react when you go over your calorie goal once, or do not get 10,000 steps in a day? Being constantly busy with measuring can cause unnecessary stress and frustration.

Recent research from the University of California shows that tracking your movement does not always work to achieve your goals. Of the 200 women surveyed in this study, 68% initially indicated that they see the activity tracker as a tool that helped them to live healthy. The downside was that 79% felt the pressure to meet their targets every day. 59% felt that the device had a big influence on their behavior. At 30%, the activity tracker caused a sense of guilt if the goals were not achieved [6] .

What is even more intense: the use of health apps and health trackers can stimulate eating disorders [7] . Fitness apps can push you to push through harder than you should. This can therefore backfire for your health. For example, you can focus too much on what the app says what you have to do and thus increase the chance of an injury. You listen more to the app than to your body.

I regularly notice in practice that tracking your diet and exercise can also turn out negative. A consequence may be that you are too busy with your behavior, so that an app is counterproductive. Achieving quantitative goals (such as at least 10,000 steps per day) can then even become more important than health itself.

The question is whether an app is effective and helps you to achieve all your goals. Do you have the basic knowledge about how many calories contain certain products and do you understand the effect of the energy balance? Then it is useful to make the step towards intuitive eating, so that you do not keep your food for months. In the end you have to be able to do it without an app. How we do this is explained in the article about  intuitive eating .

Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
I also use various health apps and activity trackers. I always have my running app on when I'm running to see how far and how quickly I've walked. And it can indeed give me stress if I have not walked so well. I also regularly check the pedometer on my iPhone. Who, with the exception of the weekend days, invariably shows me that I did not achieve my daily goal of 10,000 steps.

I think that all health apps and other activity trackers are a good tool to trigger a lifestyle change. But should we continue to log and keep track of the rest of our lives? And more importantly, should we let our mood and self-image be determined by the feedback from an app?

Share this post