Smoothy Slim
Photo by Li Sun Pexels Logo Photo: Li Sun

Does moving your arms count as steps?

If you wear a fitness tracker on your wrist and you move your arms around (even if you aren't taking any steps) the sensor detects accelerations, which may be counted as steps.

caroltorgan.com - Why it's Easy to Fool Your Activity Tracker and What You Can Do ...
What foods prevent hypertension?
What foods prevent hypertension?

Highly processed foods, saturated fats, salt, fried food, and excessive alcohol intake should be avoided. These can elevate blood pressure,...

Read More »
Last updated Jul 25, 2021
What is the highest fiber vegetable?
What is the highest fiber vegetable?

High-fiber vegetables to include in your diet Bitter gourd. Eggplant. Collard greens. Swiss chard. Artichokes. Potatoes. Brussels sprout. Legumes....

Read More »
Last updated Dec 23, 2018
Strange purple cocktail removes 2.7lbs every 4 days
Strange purple cocktail removes 2.7lbs every 4 days

This effective juice jolts the metabolism, boosts energy and burns fat all day.

Learn More »
Promotion

What quirky activities have you done that your fitness tracker or smart watch falsely counted as steps? What about playing the drums, folding napkins, or directing a choir? How about opening and closing the refrigerator door or washing your hands? These are all activities that netted people “steps.” If you’re like the majority of people in a survey, you consider accuracy to be the most important feature of wearables. Unfortunately, activity trackers can be notoriously inaccurate. The ease with which activity trackers can be fooled into counting steps has turned into an entertaining game for people trying to drum up big numbers to win friendly bets and workplace rewards. There are videos and tutorials on how to cheat step counters (see video below). To rack up fake steps you can sit on a couch and shake your wrist; toss your fitness tracker in the dryer; or attach your tracker to an electric saw blade, power drill, paint can shaker, ceiling fan, metronome, dog, bike wheel, or hamster wheel.

Examples of how to get false steps

Why it’s so easy to trick fitness trackers

Most popular activity trackers and smart watches (such as products from Apple, Amazfit, Coros, Fitbit, Garmin, Honor, Huawei, Polar, Samsung, Suunto, Withings, and Xiaomi) use an accelerometer to sense movement. This detects acceleration, which is your change in speed relative to time. Devices typically measure acceleration in 3 planes, hence they are known as triaxial or 3D. The planes are X, Y, and Z, which are your accelerations from front to back, side to side, and up and down. (To view great examples of raw accelerometer data for several activities, visit Unfit Bits: Research.) If you wear a fitness tracker on your wrist and you move your arms around (even if you aren’t taking any steps) the sensor detects accelerations, which may be counted as steps. Hence steps for napkin folding (confessed by a waitress), drum playing, and more. Conversely, if the sensor can’t detect your changes in speed, it may not count steps. Thus a wrist-based tracker may not measure activity done while your arms are motionless (cycling, carrying groceries, or pushing a stroller or lawnmower). However, if you’re moving over an uneven surface, the sensor may pick up wrist vibrations, giving you step counts that may or may not correspond with your actual steps. This is a key reason that a tracker’s location on your body is very important.

How trackers count steps and why they vary

Trackers use algorithms to analyze the raw data from the accelerometer to determine what gets counted as a step. Many data characteristics may be considered, including the amplitude and frequency of the 3D accelerations and the patterns of stepping bouts and pauses. Each company has different algorithms (typically proprietary) with different thresholds for what ultimately gets counted as steps. Hence different trackers can give a range numbers for the same activity. Lots of research studies have analyzed tracker accuracy. The studies typically compare a variety of consumer trackers to some sort of gold standard.

Research studies on activity tracker step accuracy have generally found:

What coffee is good for weight loss?
What coffee is good for weight loss?

Black coffee Black coffee is best for weight loss as it does not contain added sugars or fats that can contribute to weight gain, Shaw says. Jan...

Read More »
Last updated Jan 20, 2019
What drinks clear your skin?
What drinks clear your skin?

Best Acne Detox Beverages Green Tea. Green tea is one of the most popular morning drinks and one of the most effective beverages for fighting acne....

Read More »
Last updated Sep 18, 2018
Weird “juice ritual” removes 65lbs in weeks
Weird “juice ritual” removes 65lbs in weeks

This effective juice jolts the metabolism, boosts energy and burns fat all day.

Learn More »
Promotion

Trackers are less accurate at slow walking speeds (<2 mph)

Trackers worn on the wrist may not detect steps if the arms are stationary while walking Trackers may greatly underestimate steps taken during household chores (such as vacuuming and making a bed) Trackers may not accurately count steps done during sports agility tasks (such as shooting free throws and ladder drills) Trackers may detect continuous large arm movements (such as folding laundry) as steps, resulting in huge over-estimations Trackers can be less accurate in people with gait issues (such as people who use a lower-limb prosthesis or have had a stroke) Trackers do a poor job of estimating energy expenditure (the number of calories you burn) The over-and under-estimations can add up significantly over days and weeks. This can throw off estimates of distances covered, calories burned, and other metrics

Why you shouldn’t be able to fool trackers

Tracker accuracy relies on pattern recognition. In a clever study, researchers gave participants smartphone-based activity trackers that used an accelerometer and a gyroscope (for rotational velocity around each axis). Participants were instructed to find ways to intentionally “cheat” the trackers (for example, by shaking a phone while seated to get the tracker to detect walking). The researchers were able to take the patterns of deceptive behaviors from all the participants and use them to “train” the tracker to recognize them as false, thus greatly improving activity recognition. With improvements in algorithms and machine learning, trackers will become much better at pattern recognition and thus become much more accurate. And as more sensors are added (gyroscope, magnetometer, altimeter, GPS; plus measures for posture, heart rate, heat flux, galvanic skin response, etc.) more contextual information will be built into the algorithms to distinguish factors such as movement intensity (light, medium, high) and body position (lying, sitting, standing). In the future you may be able to adjust your own tracker to tailor analysis of your movement patterns with just a few pushes of a button.

Steps you can take to improve your tracker’s accuracy

Although you currently can’t change the sensors and algorithms in your tracker, you don’t have to take the inaccuracy issues lying down. Here’s what you can do to improve your tracker’s accuracy:

Do any calibration steps that are specified.

Provide accurate personal data (such as height, weight, gender, and stride length). If one of these changes a lot (such as weight) update your information. These data are used in calculations to estimate parameters such as calories burned and distance walked. If you have an option of attaching your tracker near your hip, rather than on your wrist, do it. The closer it is to your center of mass, the more accurate it will be (especially for estimating calories burned).

How can I detox my liver in 2 days?
How can I detox my liver in 2 days?

For two days, I recommend the following: Sip on dandelion tea. Apple cider vinegar water. Green smoothie with parsley and cilantro (recipe below)...

Read More »
Last updated Dec 2, 2021
What foods help fight Alzheimer's?
What foods help fight Alzheimer's?

Ingredients of the MIND Diet Leafy green vegetables, at least 6 servings/week. Other vegetables, at least 1 serving/day. Berries, at least 2...

Read More »
Last updated Oct 17, 2019
Purple mojito “devours” 57lbs of flab?
Purple mojito “devours” 57lbs of flab?

This effective juice jolts the metabolism, boosts energy and burns fat all day.

Learn More »
Promotion

Think through your daily activities. If you wear a wrist-based tracker and regularly knead bread, shake cocktails, or direct an orchestra, consider removing your tracker while doing those activities. Alternatively, make a note of the bonus steps you’re getting during the activity.

Securely fasten your tracker so it doesn’t bounce around.

Pay attention to the updates, as they may improve the algorithms.

Wear your tracker on your non-dominant wrist to reduce potential extra step counts from arm movements. (Some trackers may ask you to input whether you wear it on your dominant or non-dominant wrist as the algorithm factors in this variable.)

Overall, the ability of trackers to accurately count steps depends on the type of movements you make throughout your day. The most important movements you make, however, may be just to stand up and start walking. What crazy activities have you done that your tracker falsely counted as steps?

Related popular posts

Is your activity tracking gadget accurate? Do you care?

Self-tracking meets ready-to-wear: Make room in your closet for smart clothes

The Future of Activity Monitoring: Innovating Beyond Steps, Sleep, and Speed

What if Wearable Tech was like Press-on Nails?

Self-tracking meets ready-to-wear

Key Questions to Ask Before You Have Bodily Fluids Tested for Athletic and Health “Insights”

References

Note; This is a updated, revised version of a post that was originally published October 16, 2016. For those especially interested in this field, take a look at the Journal for the Measurement of Physical Behaviour launched in 2018. It publishes “high quality research on fundamental measurement problems, and use and application of wearable technology to assess physical activity, sedentary behavior, movement disorders, and sleep.” Image: Walkers – courtesy of Elliot Margolies via Flickr Creative Commons (image has been slightly cropped)

caroltorgan.com - Why it's Easy to Fool Your Activity Tracker and What You Can Do ...
Does beetroot affect your urine?
Does beetroot affect your urine?

Yes, eating beets or drinking beet juice can give your urine and/or your stool a slightly reddish or pink tinge. This phenomenon, called beeturia,...

Read More »
Last updated Sep 10, 2019
What is the absolute fastest way to lose weight?
What is the absolute fastest way to lose weight?

The 14 Best Ways to Burn Fat Fast START STRENGTH TRAINING. ... FOLLOW A HIGH-PROTEIN DIET. ... SQUEEZE IN MORE SLEEP. ... ADD VINEGAR TO YOUR DIET....

Read More »
Last updated Oct 15, 2020
Weird “juice ritual” removes 65lbs in weeks
Weird “juice ritual” removes 65lbs in weeks

This effective juice jolts the metabolism, boosts energy and burns fat all day.

Learn More »
Promotion
What are the side effects of carrot juice?
What are the side effects of carrot juice?

Large amounts of carrot juice might cause the skin to yellow and the teeth to decay. Allergy to celery and related plants: Carrot may cause an...

Read More »
Last updated Jul 13, 2020
Common yard weed melts 60lbs of fat?
Common yard weed melts 60lbs of fat?

Made into a potent powdered supplement blended right into water or your favorite beverage to be appreciated as a scrumptious morning smoothy.

Learn More »
Promotion
What is the danger of too much juice?
What is the danger of too much juice?

The more concentrated sugar and calories in fruit juice can lead to obesity and inappropriate weight gain. Excessive weight gain is associated with...

Read More »
Last updated Mar 20, 2019