Someone using a FitBit as part of shifting to a healthier lifestyle may result in better health outcomes (and presumably lower costs) but there's no "will save thousands on annual healthcare bills" about it. Certainly just wearing a FitBit has zero effect on health if you don't do anything based on the collected data.
> Certainly just wearing a FitBit has zero effect on health if you don't do anything based on the collected data.
Surprisingly, even this I disagree with. Simply buying one nudges the healthcare world to a more data driven place, and simply wearing one provides data and feedback to the ecosystem that will have a positive value.
That being said, yeah you should look at the data if you personally want to benefit.
I attribute my Garmin Vivoactive HR to pushing me from chronic sitting to being reasonably active and its heart-rate monitoring alerts for letting me know when something was off. I agree with you that spending money to get a good device is worth it, especially since my Garmin has lasted me 4 years without issues.
Buying one also probably also pre-supposes that you care--at least in principle. I agree it can be a useful nudge. I have friends who totally swear by their FitBits. And that's great.
Personally, I'm fairly active--at least at a walking level of activity day to day--and quantifying the number of steps I take or whatever just doesn't really do anything for me.
But I'm a big believer in nudges generally and I expect that, over time, we'll see more and more data that is more directly actionable. I just don't really see it (for me) today.
Yup, makes sense! And you may want to take a fresh look at them, because now it's a lot more than steps (rem measurements, heart rate, blood oxygen level, perspiration, temperature, etc).
