Accuracy of the vivofit activity tracker

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of the vivofit activity tracker in assessing energy expenditure and step count. Thirteen participants wore the vivofit activity tracker for five days. Participants were required to independently perform 1 h of self-selected activity each day of the study. On day four, participants came to the lab to undergo BMR and a treadmill-walking task (TWT). On day five, participants completed 1 h of office-type activities. BMR values estimated by the vivofit were not significantly different from the values measured through indirect calorimetry (IC). The vivofit significantly underestimated EE for treadmill walking, but responded to the differences in the inclination. Vivofit underestimated step count for level walking but provided an accurate estimate for incline walking. There was a strong correlation between EE and the exercise intensity. The vivofit activity tracker is on par with similar devices and can be used to track physical activity.

Keywords:

• Energy expenditure
• physical activity
• step count
• treadmill walking test

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Mr. David Gill, the owner of TotalCoaching.com, for providing access to his platform and for his technical support. Finally, we would like to thank the participants for their time, commitment and patience.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Funding information

The work was supported by an internal grant from the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, Canada.