New Report Questions Accuracy Of Fitness Trackers

Thousands of people unwrapped new fitness trackers on Christmas morning, mainly the popular Fitbits. The devices monitor things like your activity levels, exercise, and sleep, but a new report is questioning their accuracy.

Both the Fitbit and Jawbone are some of the latest must-have accessories, but just how well do they work?

According to a new study, the answer is not very well. Researchers looked at 22 studies of both Fitbit and Jawbone models from 2010 to 2015. They found the trackers tend to undercount the number of steps a person walks, but overestimate the amount of more vigorous activities like running.

Now, when it comes to sleep, the devices could use a tune up. Researchers found the trackers tend to guess people slept about 23 minutes longer than they actually did.

Both Fitbit and Jawbone claim their devices are the most accurate. So how can you know you're getting the best out of your device? Researchers say the key is to give the trackers accurate height, weight, and stride length. That way they can better measure your activity levels.