Can Smartwatches Accurately Track Calories?

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Ah, smartwatches, the next big thing in the world of tech and fitness. And I'm sure you're aware of the ability, or at least advertised ability, for smartwatches and other fitness trackers to track one of the more pertinent metric in fitness, and that is your calories burned.

Estimating calories burned is already a very difficult task, at least in aiming for accuracy. So how exactly is a smartwatch able to do so when research-grade calorie tracking devices requires much more complex equipment? Is there something smartwatch makers aren't telling us? Or, maybe, they're not as reliable of calories trackers as we think? Let's find out!

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[AneTix]

Admittedly I'd prefer under reporting rather than over lol

[andreazar]

Consistency > accuracy. Getting a smart watch lets people hold themselves accountable. I think everyone understands it’s not accurate, but it’s something to encourage them to keep going. If you’re considering one, I highly suggest it as it’s helped so many people around me and inspired us to challenge each other etc., in a fun healthy way⌚️💪🏼

[P_Mann]

I also thought the devices would largely overestimate calories, but with them showing lower calories burned than actual, I suppose they could somewhat balance the tendency of folks to underestimate their food as they are burning more than they think they are.

[sirblack]

I was strength training and doing cardio religiously prior to getting a smartwatch, since getting it I do not like to see that I did not workout unless it is a rest day. I still try to always hit above 10K in steps as a result of getting the watch so the $100 that I spent on the watch was worth it.

[rdAlchemist]

Having a smart watch change the fitness game for me personally, I was grossly under eating or over eating and even having a good guesstimation is invaluable to me. I got in the best shape of my life after having a smart watch, it keeps me honest.

[hallorwalahfrid]

I used to be really fat. I was on the verge of developing serious health conditions. I remember not being able to tie my shoelaces and my sleep suffered as well. My life changed when I finally set my mind to the thinking that anything is possible if you decide so. I took a meal plan to start with. I created it from Next Level Diet, which was super helpful to me at that moment. I didn't have to worry about calories, macros, nutrients and all that stuff. I just focused on walking long distances and exercising after I got on a level where I could do some simple workouts. I hope my story will inspire you to do the same. To change your body you must first change your mind!

[jesse-jamesahlijah]

Me: Buys a fitness tracker
Picture fit literally two days later:

[greenmedic]

They do a pretty good job of tracking individual trends, habits and changes over time when regularly used. Same as a scale, or bioelectrical impedance scale that provide rough estimates of body composition. They don't have to be that accurate, just consistent in the metrics they provide. From there, it's up to the individual user to adjust their behavior and habits to see resultant changes in the data.

[nathan]

I feel personally attacked by these noises. Loved the vid

[john-atallah]

Learning how to self regulate is one of the most important things. Nutrition Labels can be off, fitness trackers aren't 100%. It's good to have estimations, but most people still need to learn when to put the fork down (or pick it up 💪)

[HampusTman]

Very fair points, but I do wanna stress the final one. For me, it has been a tremendous help to stay motivated, and adds an extra gameification aspect to working out

[kc.k]

Mans was running at the speed of light @ 6:39 🤣🤣🤣 Your too funny Picture Fit but it is relatable. When I see that I’m losing a lot it motivates me more

[AHeroAlmost]

I like my Fitbit to track my steps just to get me moving a bit more & for tracking my cardio…
I know it’s never going to be 100% accurate but at least it motivates me ..

[JosueMartinez-czct]

On my experience I feel like the later Apple watches are great at tracking bike, but it might overestimate at lifting weights. But I read somewhere that when it overestimates is like 25% max. Which if you burn 300 calories, is only 70 calories. And if it were to underestimate that’s just a bonus. Is not as crazy as when people underestimate how many calories their sauces have

[ponchoskunk]

When cutting and bulking I always thought of it as more “how many calories do i eat relative to my average “watch calories” burned?” I understand the watch never accurate. But I do find, in my experience, the watch is pretty precise with its measurements based on my activity.

[disco.lemonade]

Funny thing about watches is that even if they're not too accurate regarding tracking burned kcal, for most people including me it's about getting involved in activities and see the numbers go up, and you also get a perspective of what 500 kcal means in terms of food and in terms of cardio. It's definitely has had a very positive impact on me. I prefer Polar watches as they have around 20% margin of error, but I prefer Garmin when it comes to features.

[tripull]

I find that it’s simply a personal motivator.
Getting even just a little motivation is helpful.

[DoomWizard]

I like using mine for heartrate and sleep data, I take calories burned with a grain of salt and cant wear doing martial arts so there's that, found using the fitbit app to record my food useful handy too

[nikgracanin]

Smartwatches can't count absolute calories, but they can count relative calories burned. At that is basically what folks need.

[im_skrunkly]

i have a garmin and everyone on the my highschool's xc team has one and we all get extremely similar results when running together. we have run the same 0.6 mile warmup everyday and the most my watch has gone off was 0.62 mile