S
o, has this happened to you? You are heading to your front door after a long walk
when you look at your Fitbit and notice that you only have walked 9,500 steps. Do
you then pass your front door and keep walking to get an additional 500 steps? I know
I do. It's a simple nudge, a prompt, an inconspicuous incentive to go that extra mile (or steps).
Sensors, activity trackers, smartwatches, and other wearable devices are becoming more common
as their prices drop and their functionality improves. Technology in the form of these devices as well as
mobile apps and online searches is accelerating access, feedback, and involvement of consumers, whose
average amount of screen time quickly approaches six hours per day in the United States. The wearable
market alone for smartwatches and Fitbits has grown at an annual rate of 156 percent to over $600
million in 2018. Millennials and members of Generation Z are the most avid adapters with 36 percent and
33 percent, respectively, tracking their activity and exercising with wearable technology.
BY DAVE DONNAN
The Tech-Wellness-Food
Connection
Fitbits and smartwatches are shifting our physical activity.
Next, they will change the way we eat.
SUMMER 2019 103
opinion
