How Does Fitbit Work to Track Your Steps?
Fitbit uses an accelerometer with three axes that can detect movements in any direction. When worn on the body, a proprietary algorithm that looks for specific movement patterns analyzes the data captured by the Fitbit’s accelerometer. Together, the data from the accelerometer and the counting algorithm determine the number of steps taken, the distance covered, the energy spent, the intensity of exercise, and sleep.
How Accurate Is Fitbit?
Experts consider Fitbits surprisingly accurate, but they’re not perfect. Because movement is subject to different factors, they’re known to undercount or overcount steps at times. Walking on a plush carpet or pushing a shopping cart or stroller may cause Fitbit to undercount steps. Driving down a bumpy road or riding a bike may cause it to overcount steps. According to a study on Fitbit accuracy published by the NCBI, researchers found that Fitbit devices were “acceptably accurate” for step counting about 50% of the time. Additionally, they found that accuracy increased depending on where the device is worn:
For jogging, wrist placement was the most accurate.For normal-paced walking, wearing the Fitbit on the torso provides the most accurate measurements.For slow or very slow walking, placing it on the ankle provided the best accuracy.
Meanwhile, Fitbits aren’t great at calculating energy expenditure (i.e., calories burned and workout intensity). They tend to overestimate higher-intensity activities while underestimating distance traveled with fast walking. But for sleep tracking, Fitbit devices were on par with research-grade accelerometers—in other words, accurate.
How to Increase the Accuracy of Your Fitbit
If you’re concerned your Fitbit isn’t tracking your activity correctly, or you want to ensure the most accurate results, here are the steps you can take to help increase the accuracy of your Fitbit.
Wear Your Device Correctly
Where and how you wear your Fitbit can impact accuracy. In general, the device should remain in close contact with your body when you’re exercising (and not dangling from a necklace, backpack, or loose clothing). Here’s what Fitbit recommends:
For wrist-based Fitbits: Wear your Fitbit watch on top of your wrist, not too tight or too loose. For devices that track heart rate, make sure it’s touching your skin, and wear it a bit tighter on your wrist when working out.For clip-based Fitbits: Wear the Fitbit close to your body with the screen facing outward. Secure the clip tightly to any part of your clothing. Experiment with different locations to see what works best for you (more secure is better).
Change Your App Settings
Fitbit relies on the information you provide in the app to calculate your steps and daily activity accurately. Make sure the following settings are set up correctly in the app. These options are on the dashboard, either under Device Settings or Personal Information.
Wrist orientation: By default, Fitbit is set to your left hand, i.e., most people’s non-dominant hand. If you’re wearing it on your right hand, update this setting to Right. Height: Fitbit uses height to estimate your walking and running stride lengths. Enter your correct height in inches or centimeters to ensure the most accurate step count. Stride Length: Fitbit uses a default stride setting based on your height. For greater accuracy, change this and manually enter your stride length. See How Does Fitbit Track Steps to learn how to do this. Exercise App: To better measure workout intensity, use Fitbit’s exercise app (particular models only) to track your workouts, especially for activities like spinning or yoga. The app has Android, iOS, and Windows versions. Use the GPS: If you’re not swinging your arms when walking (for example, when pushing a stroller), you can use Fitbit’s GPS feature to calculate your daily activity better (specific models only).
Change Where You Wear Your Fitbit
Based on the research, you can potentially increase your Fitbit’s accuracy by changing the location of where you wear your Fitbit during certain activities.
When walking at an average pace, wear the Fitbit on your torso (clip models).When walking slowly, wear the Fitbit on your ankle (clip models).When jogging, wear the Fitbit on your wrist (wrist models).When sleeping, Fitbit suggests wearing a classic wristband (wrist models).
Generally speaking, you shouldn’t sweat your Fitbit’s accuracy too much. A Fitbit is accurate enough for non-medical uses. so being off a few steps or calories won’t noticeably affect your device’s use and enjoyment.
