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Fitness watches - any recommendations?
- Thread starter Northbay
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Welcome to the forum @Northbay
I’ve tweaked the title of your thread to encourage more focussed replies.
I think one of the challenges with a device which offers so many data points from something worn on the wrist is likely to be the accuracy and reliability of the information provided.
Fitness watches are largely unregulated, and don’t seem to have to conform to the same standards of reliability as ‘medical devices’ such as CGM.
Even for devices that only measure one thing, like blood pressure, the simpler ones which inflate around the wrist are less accurate than the ones that use an inflating arm cuff. So I‘d find it difficult to trust information from a catch-all device that only had surface contact with my wrist to go on?
I’ve tweaked the title of your thread to encourage more focussed replies.
I think one of the challenges with a device which offers so many data points from something worn on the wrist is likely to be the accuracy and reliability of the information provided.
Fitness watches are largely unregulated, and don’t seem to have to conform to the same standards of reliability as ‘medical devices’ such as CGM.
Even for devices that only measure one thing, like blood pressure, the simpler ones which inflate around the wrist are less accurate than the ones that use an inflating arm cuff. So I‘d find it difficult to trust information from a catch-all device that only had surface contact with my wrist to go on?
Inka
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Hi @Northbay It depends what your priorities are. In my opinion, none of them are good for blood pressure. You’d be better off buying your own home blood pressure monitor if that’s your main need. If it’s just general fitness - things like heartrate, steps, etc - then you could get something like a Fitbit. I have one and really like it. I got one of the cheaper ones but find it more than adequate for my needs.
Eddy Edson
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Just echoing Inka really, but I've been wearing a cheap FitBit this year & like it well enough, for HR, steps, kcal, sleep time. Obviously you wouldn't swear your life on its accuracy but it's good enough for keeping a track of how things compare day to day.
For BP wrist units are just as good as arm units these days, if you get one of the models which auto-senses whether the unit is positioned correctly in relation to your heart. My little Omron wrist BP gadget is super-nifty.
For BP wrist units are just as good as arm units these days, if you get one of the models which auto-senses whether the unit is positioned correctly in relation to your heart. My little Omron wrist BP gadget is super-nifty.
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Yes it was the things like blood pressure and oxygen levels that I thought might a bit dodgy.
I was happy enough with my Fitbit for steps, stairs, and heart rate. Though interestingly the step count never matched the tracker on the phone in my pocket and Fitbit was always the more generous. i assumed this was me waving my arms around!
Good to know that wrist BP monitors have improved @Eddy Edson 🙂
I was happy enough with my Fitbit for steps, stairs, and heart rate. Though interestingly the step count never matched the tracker on the phone in my pocket and Fitbit was always the more generous. i assumed this was me waving my arms around!
Good to know that wrist BP monitors have improved @Eddy Edson 🙂
Jodee
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I only have a step counter when I remember to put it on. There is another gadget I have called a oximeter, which measures blood oxygen levels and pulse. I also have a separate BP monitor which I only use when at rest, BP automatically rises when active and I believe the docs are more interested in the at rest measurement.
I don't know of anything that may do all the things you want apart from that very expensive one by apple, but perhaps others can advise further.
I don't know of anything that may do all the things you want apart from that very expensive one by apple, but perhaps others can advise further.
pistolpete
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Cheap watches dont tend to track steps well, you phone will probably do a better job. Watches tend to work in conjuction with an app and use the GPS on the phone to confirm steps and distances. They need to know your height and weight to get an idea of calories burnt and all will need an app to set the watch up. None can measure blood pressure accurately yet. Oximeters on watches are pretty accurate though.
Depending how serious you are taking your exercise should be an idea of how much to spend on a watch. Any fitness App like Strava, Google Fit, Samsung Health etc will track your exercise without a watch. Maybe try the app first then see if you get on with it before you buy a watch.
Also high end watches can work to monitor your heart (like an ECG machine) and warn you of any potential abnormalities.
Depending how serious you are taking your exercise should be an idea of how much to spend on a watch. Any fitness App like Strava, Google Fit, Samsung Health etc will track your exercise without a watch. Maybe try the app first then see if you get on with it before you buy a watch.
Also high end watches can work to monitor your heart (like an ECG machine) and warn you of any potential abnormalities.
Rich DUK
Supporter Care Advisor
Hi there @Northbay, welcome to the forum! I am just echoing what others have said here, more specifically relating to the blood pressure. I am personally not aware of a smartwatch that offers blood pressure as a metric. The arm cuff at-home kits would be a good device to use for that and they can be obtained relatively cheaply from the pharmacy.
Touching upon smartwatches for the other metrics you mentioned, BPM, steps, and activity tracking etc-most watches on the market do the same thing in that regard. The exception is the recent Apple watches, I believe the series 4 and above have the ability to function as an ECG through a linked app and the series 6 watch has an oxygen monitor. Of course, these aren't in replacement for medical examinations, but can offer more data points and guidance for those particular metrics. You can see more about these aspects by following the link here - https://www.apple.com/uk/healthcare/apple-watch/. As others have mentioned here, they work best when paired with a phone, but depending on what you do and what you want, a phone may be a suitable solution for you.
Touching upon smartwatches for the other metrics you mentioned, BPM, steps, and activity tracking etc-most watches on the market do the same thing in that regard. The exception is the recent Apple watches, I believe the series 4 and above have the ability to function as an ECG through a linked app and the series 6 watch has an oxygen monitor. Of course, these aren't in replacement for medical examinations, but can offer more data points and guidance for those particular metrics. You can see more about these aspects by following the link here - https://www.apple.com/uk/healthcare/apple-watch/. As others have mentioned here, they work best when paired with a phone, but depending on what you do and what you want, a phone may be a suitable solution for you.
Bruce Stephens
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Other watches have those features, too. (For example the Pixel Watch has both and I'm pretty sure recent Samsung watches do, too.)
Rich DUK
Supporter Care Advisor
Thank you for clarifying this information @Bruce Stephens, its good to know there are others on the market too.
Though be careful because that thread is mainly discussing purported blood glucose measuring watches, of which none of the things that are available and advertised as being able to measure blood glucose actually work at all.
The responses above give a range of devices, any of the more expensive Smart (Android, Apple) or Fitness (Garmin, Fitbit) devices will likely give you decent heart rate, sleep, step counting and SpO2 values. The sensors and algorithms have been around for a while now so they seem to work fairly well. Where I would be more careful and look closer at reviews is the cheaper end of the market (if that's what you decide on) as the sensors on these devices are likely from an earlier generation.
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