The next time you are curious about how many steps you have-or haven’t- taken in a day, simply look down at your wrist. That’s what many people are doing lately, thanks to the popular new lifestyle tools that track steps, calories, sleep patterns, and more.
Introduced in February of 2012, the Nike Fuel Band can be worn as a wristband and tracks daily steps and calories burned. Costing $149, it tells the time, displays one’s progress and activity patterns and logs one’s goal status. Fuel Band users create a daily goal for steps taken, and LED display lights change color from red to green to show that goal progress. The corresponding smart phone App lets users enter in data such as exercise, food intake, amount of sleep, and mood levels.
The 2011 JawBone Up does virtually everything that the Nike Fuel Band does, with a few more features to its name. The $99 device tracks one’s sleeping hours and measures light versus deep sleep, uses a “smart alarm” that vibrates to wake its user up at the most ideal time within a sleep cycle, and has an idle alert that reminds users when they have been inactive for too long.
Lastly, the Fit Bit, released in 2009, stands as the most simple of the brands. It tracks steps, distance, and calories, as well as the quality and length of sleep. Consumers are also urged to purchase Aria, the “smart scale” that compliments the Fit Bit. For $129, it not only measures one’s weight, but it calculates body fat percentage and body mass index, as well.
Manager of Fitness and Recreation at the McGinley Fitness Center, Sarah Longley Bickford weighs in on the legitimacy of these lifestyle tools and how they fit in to an active college student’s life. A veteran herself with 16 years in the field of fitness, her efforts have been paramount in promoting health and wellness around Fordham’s campus, especially with constantly changing fitness classes. Though Bickford is unfamiliar with the specific brands themselves, she knows all about the methods that they use to aid people in weight loss or goal achievement.
“The tracking aspect within each of these products are a great feature in that they provide an education factor for people,” she said. She credits the ability for users to log their food intake and daily exercise into smart phone Apps as a positive tool for discovering patterns and habits. Adds Bickford, “Its always the ‘I really don’t eat that much’ that changes once its explained to you in black and white.”
These lifestyle tools aren’t perfect, however, says Bickford. She points out that “with any exercise product that gives you electronic data, there is usually a percentage of error in the results.” That is, someone of a certain height, weight, and with certain genetics will not burn the same amount of calories as his neighbor does.
Sophomore Martha McKinley GSB ’15 is familiar with both the FitBit and the Nike Fuel Band (her aunt uses both), and finds flaws in each. She says that a drawback of the FitBit is its clip-on feature, so its “easily lost and you are forced to start over to reach your day’s goal [of steps].”
The Nike Fuel Band isn’t the product for her, either. “The problem with the Nike Fuel Band is that it costs $150, and someone like me wouldn’t want to buy that to track my fuel when I can do it by myself,” she said.
McKinley is a commuter from Manhattan and works a part-time job 5 days a week, so she admits that while she’d like to make the investment, its all about timing. “I haven’t worked out in a while so for me it’s discouraging; it’d be like, ‘Oh great, I burned this many calories versus what I should be doing.’” She says with a laugh, “It’s not worth the money for me right now, but I’m sure within a year I’ll have one.”
Sophomore Madison Snider FCRH ‘15 purchased the Jawbone Up along with her 3 other siblings and her parents in January and has become a huge fan of the product. Her father suggested that the Snider family create a “team” through the App on which they could challenge each other and ultimately get healthier together.
“I was skeptical at first because I knew I wouldn’t want to wear the bracelet 24/7, but I am actually pleasantly surprised at the design. It’s subtle enough, and I’d say pretty neutral so that both my little brother and I could wear it,” Snider said. For about three months now she has been tracking her food, her exercise, her sleep patterns, and even her mood changes.
To her, the element of competition between her family serves as her biggest motivator to stay on track. Her favorite feature is the smart sleep alarm. Unique technology allows her to indicate to her Jawbone Up that she plans to take a power nap, and she enters a time of day by which she must wake up again. The bracelet actually deciphers the optimal time that Snider should wake up to feel most rested and rejuvenated according to her REM cycle, and a silent vibration wakes her up at that time.
Of the exciting new way to nap, Snider said, “I’ve never been a
huge napper but its pretty cool to know that if I desperately wanted one, the Jawbone helps me to stay active and productive by allowing me just the right time to sleep.” She also credits the idle alarm, which buzzes to inform her when she has been inactive for too long, as a helpful reminder to get moving.
Overall, Snider said of the product, “I would recommend the Jawbone Up, especially if someone wanted a fitness tracker that was not too noticeable (my main reason for choosing UP over other brands) but if this is less of a concern, I think there are others on the market with more accuracy and more meaningful statistics gathered.”
-Tracks steps, distance and calories
-Log food to know how many calories you’ve consumed and what you need to reach your goal intake for the day
-Measures how long and well you sleep, vibrating alarm gently wakes you
-Buy through online , or Amazon, at Apple Store, AT&T, Best Buy, Radioshack, Verizon
-Tracks daily activity and exercise
-Tracks each step taken and all calories burned
-Tells time of day
-User able to “set a goal” each day, band’s LED display lights from red to green to show progress
-Displays progress and activity patterns to help you do more
-Receive achievements and rewards as you do more
-Buy through Nike.com
NIKE FUEL BAND, $149
-Tracks daily activity and exercise
-Tracks each step taken and all calories burned
-Tells time of day
-User able to “set a goal” each day, band’s LED display lights from red to green to show progress
-Displays progress and activity patterns to help you do more
-Receive achievements and rewards as you do more
-Buy through Nike.com
-Tracks your sleep, activity, and food intake
-Wristband is flexible, strong, comfortable, water-resistant
-Tracks hours slept, light vs. deep sleep, and waking moments
-Tracks every move, including distance, calories burned, active time, and activity intensity
-Logs your mood to discover connections that affect how you feel
-Discovers patterns in your day-to-day activities
-10 day battery life
-Simple and easy connectivity by just plugging in to sync
-Compatible with devices IOS 5.1 or greater, iPhone 3g or later, Ipod Touch, iPad
-buy at AT&T, Amazon, Apple, or Best Buy
