Fitness tracker sales climbed from $14 billion in 2017 to more than US$36 billion in 2020. The meteoric rise in popularity of these devices implies that more individuals than ever perceive the utility in keeping track of their steps, flights of stairs climbed, time spent sitting, and calories burned. The makers of these gadgets clearly want users to believe that recording fitness or health-related behaviors would motivate them to become more active and healthier.

        Our review of studies over the last 25 years reveals the opposite. We analyzed more than two decades of studies from different industrialised nations – all completed before the COVID-19 outbreak – to see if and how physical activity has altered in the years before fitness trackers became widespread.

        Despite the rise in fitness tracker sales, physical activity fell from 1995 to 2017, according to our analysis of data from eight industrialized countries across the world. Furthermore, we determined that this was not a one-off occurrence in one or two nations, but rather a worldwide trend.

RADICAL REDUCTIONS IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

        To conduct the research, we first looked for published studies that recorded physical activity throughout the day, such as walking, domestic tasks, or sports. We were looking for studies that took two "snapshots" of everyday activities from a group, separated by at least one year.

        These criteria were satisfied by 16 studies from eight countries: Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. The research was done between 1995 and 2017. It's worth noting that these photos didn't follow any specific people. Rather, they followed groups of persons of the same age. For example, a Japanese research of physical activity among individuals aged 20 to 90 collected data from persons in each age group every year for 22 years.

        Scientists used a variety of wearable gadgets to track the participants' physical activity, ranging from simple pedometers (step counters) to more sophisticated activity monitors like accelerometers. The research groups ranged in size from tens of thousands of persons in large, nationally representative samples to a few hundred pupils from a few smaller schools.

        We estimated a "effect size" for each study after finding the research studies. The effect size is a way of modifying data such that "apples-to-apples" comparisons may be made. We utilized the data from the studies to compute the impact size. The average physical activity at the start and conclusion of each research, the sample size, and a measure of physical activity variability are all included. We were able to come up with an overall trend by combining the data of all research using a technique called meta-analysis.

        We noticed that studies found pretty consistent drops in physical activity across the board, with similar decreases in both sexes and across geographical regions. Between 1995 and 2017, the average amount of physical activity per person decreased by about 1,100 steps per day. The most startling finding was the substantial reduction in physical activity among teenagers aged 11 to 19 years – by nearly 30% – over the course of a single generation.

        When we analyzed studies that reported physical activity in steps per day, we discovered that total steps per day decreased by 608 steps per day in adults, 823 steps per day in children, and 1,497 steps per day in teenagers during the decade. Our research does not look at why physical activity has decreased in the last 25 years. However, certain relevant factors were highlighted in the research we looked at.



LESS OUTDOOR TIME, MORE SCREEN TIME

        Declines in physical activity were linked to increased ownership and usage of smartphones, tablets, video games, and social media among teenagers. In the United States, for example, teenage screen use jumped from five hours per day in 1999 to 8.8 hours per day in 2017.

        Physical education programs have typically provided the majority of physical exercise for teenagers at school. During the research period, however, variations in the frequency of physical education sessions are uneven and vary by nation. All of these variables might contribute to the drop in physical activity that we saw in our research.

        Furthermore, fewer people and children walk or bike to school or work now than they did 25 years ago. In the late 1960s, for example, most American youngsters aged 5 to 14 rode bicycles or walked to school. Automobile journeys have mostly supplanted this "active transportation" since then. Travel by school bus or public transit has been relatively constant.

FITNESS TRACKERS ARE STILL VALUE FOR MONEY.

        So, if physical activity levels have decreased while the popularity of fitness tracking has increased, what makes these devices useful? Fitness trackers can assist people in being more conscious of their everyday physical activities. These technologies, however, are just a portion of the solution to the problem of inactive lifestyles. They are facilitators of behavior change rather than drives.

        When a person's physical activity declines, he or she risks losing general fitness and developing additional health concerns like obesity or diabetes. Physical activity, on the other hand, has a significant beneficial influence on health and well-being.

        To increase active activity, the first step is to quantify it, which these gadgets can accomplish. However, goal-setting, self-monitoring, positive feedback, and social support are all necessary components of improving total physical activity.

        Lindsay Toth is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at the University of North Florida, and Scott A Conger is an Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology at Boise State University. David Bassett is a Professor and the Department Head of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies at the University of Tennessee. The Conversation published this commentary first.