Staying Healthy
Ask the doctor: Are self-tracking devices effective?
Q. It seems like more and more people are wearing various devices that measure how active they are.
Is this really valuable, or is it just a fad?
A. Being physically active surely is valuable. In fact, there is probably nothing more valuable that we
can do to protect our health. In recent years, small electronic devices to monitor our movement have appeared. Some measure how many steps we take a day (pedometers). Others measure how much we move (accelerometers). Some estimate how many calories we've burned, based on the amount we move.
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