EDC Faculty Abdus Wahed, Wendy King and Steve Belle Involved in Research on Wearable Fitness Devices covered in the New York Times
Wearable fitness devices don’t seem to make you more fit. In an article reviewing research on wearable fitness, the IDEA trial was covered.
The trial took place at the University of Pittsburgh between 2010 and 2014, and it involved 471 adults between the ages of 18 and 35. All of them were put on a low-calorie diet, had group counseling sessions and were advised to increase their physical activity. Six months into the intervention, all were given telephone counseling sessions, text-message prompts and study materials on the study’s website. At the end of the two years, those without access to the wearable technology lost an average of 5.9 kg. Those with the wearable tech lost an average of 3.5 kg.