HOW ACCURATE IS FITBIT CALORIES BURNED 

How accurate is a Fitbit when it comes to calories burned? 

Have you ever wondered how accurate Fitbit devices are when it comes to tracking your calories burned throughout the day? How can a Fitbit track calories burn? As more and more people use fitness trackers to monitor their health, it’s important to understand the accuracy of our trusty fitness watches. Way back in the day, the Fitbit Surge was known as the most accurate Fitbit fitness tracker when it came to calorie burn estimates. Since then, at Fitstraps we have sold thousands of Fitbit Replacement Straps and technology has moved forward, now pretty much all Fitbit trackers on people's wrists these days can track calorie burn.

How is a Fitbit able to track calories burned? 

If you’ve ever wondered how a Fitbit can accurately calculate the number of calories burned, we will try to provide all the answers to everything related to Fitbit calorie burn features. These tiny fitness trackers are packed with technological wonders that allow them the ability to do everything from tracking your sleep habits and heart rate to monitoring daily activity and even calculating the calories burned by your body during the day. So, just how does a Fitbit calculate calories burned? 

The primary way that Fitbit can act as a calorie counter is through the use of an algorithm. This algorithm will take into account factors such as the age, gender, and weight that you provide your device with when setting up along with your activity levels throughout the week. It then uses this data to come up with an estimated amount of calories burned each day. The accuracy of these estimates can vary depending on how accurately each of these factors is reported. On top of that, Fitbit also uses its motion sensors to track your movement throughout the day and estimate how many calories you’ve burned by taking into account different types of activities such as walking, running, or playing sports. 

In addition to calculating calories burned through movement, a Fitbit can also measure your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is the number of calories you burn in a day doing nothing but resting. The Fitbit does this by tracking your heart rate and activity level when you’re sitting still, giving it an estimate of how many calories are burned just by being alive and kicking.

Finally, a Fitbit watch can also track the food you eat throughout the day (you have to input the data of course) by entering what and how much you’ve eaten; it gives an estimate of your total calorie intake for the day. This is then used to calculate a net calories burned number, which is determined by subtracting your estimated daily caloric intake through food from your calculated daily energy expenditure (the number of calories you’ve burned through just from your Basal Metabolic Rate and movement throughout the day). 

So there you have it; this is how the magic of Fitbit calorie counting happens- your Fitbit watch is able to calculate the number of calories burned throughout your day by taking into account multiple factors in order to provide you with this number. Whether you use this information to lose weight, maintain your weight or just to get an idea of how many calories your body is using during the day, a Fitbit watch can be a superb tool to have when it comes to staying at a healthy weight.

How accurate is Fitbit calories burned? 

Studies have shown that while Fitbits can accurately measure other physical activities such as steps taken throughout the day, the accuracy of their calorie-tracking capabilities is up for widespread debate in the fitness community. For example, a recent study found that there was a large discrepancy between the calories burned reported by Fitbits and those estimated through traditional methods such as VO2 max testing.

Are Fitbit Calories burned accurate? 

In addition to this, many experts have also argued that because Fitbit devices rely on stats such as a person’s height and weight when counting calories burned, this may be oversimplified. As mentioned above In order to calculate total calories burned most Fitbit Watches are measuring the motion of your body and combining that with the stats that you provided when you set up your device such as Weight, Age, Height, and Gender. The main issue here is that these stats can be helpful but are not an exact science; there are also relative body proportions to consider that are way beyond these statistics, such as the proportion of muscle mass and body fat percentage. Think the difference between someone like football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo who weighs 85kg and your average U.K. male who enjoys a few pints of beer and a kebab most Saturdays (Also 85kg). Although both are the same weight, age, and height, the muscle-to-fat proportions of both would be massively different. This would lead to both burning calories at very different rates even though the stats would appear the same on a Fitbit Watch. 

Another factor that could affect the accuracy of Fitbits when it comes to tracking calories is the algorithm they use. It has been suggested that Fitbit’s algorithms may not be able to accurately estimate calorie burn for certain activities, such as swimming or cycling. 

While Fitbit devices are convenient and really easy to use, it’s important to understand their limitations when it comes to calorie-tracking accuracy. 

Overall, while Fitbits can be helpful for measuring physical activity, they may not always be the most reliable when it comes to tracking calories burned accurately.

With this in mind, Fitbit devices are some of the most accurate fitness trackers on the market and can still be really great tools for tracking physical activity levels and helping you reach your health goals. So if you want to take advantage of all the features offered by your Fitbit, make sure to keep these accuracy considerations in mind.

By understanding the limitations of Fitbit’s calorie-tracking capabilities, you can use it as a helpful tool to reach your health goals while still being aware of its potential inaccuracies. With this in mind, you can be sure to make the most out of your Fitbit and stay on track with your health and fitness goals.

All in all, when it comes to the calories burnt feature on your Fitbit or any Fitness Watch, we think this should be used as a helpful guide rather than an exact science. So whether you are sticking with your old trusty Fitbit Charge 2 device or you have a smart new Fitbit Sense 2 Strap clipped to your wrist. The best approach to this would be a trial and error approach when taking into account that not all our bodies are the same. 

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