Wrist-worn devices for the measurement of heart rate and energy expenditure: A validation study for the Apple Watch 6, Polar Vantage V and Fitbit Sense

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the accuracy of 3 recently released wrist-worn devices (Apple Watch 6, Polar Vantage V and Fitbit Sense) for heart rate and energy expenditure during various activities. The study population consisted of 60 young healthy individuals (30 men and 30 women; age: 24.9 ± 3.0 years, BMI: 23.1 ± 2.7 kg/m2). Heart rate and energy expenditure were measured using the Polar H10 and Metamax 3B, respectively (reference measures) as well as with the 3 wrist-worn devices during 5 different activities (sitting, walking, running, resistance exercises and cycling). The Apple Watch 6 displayed the highest level of accuracy for heart rate measurement with a coefficient of variation (CV) (%) of less than 5% for all 5 activities, whereas the Polar Vantage V and the Fitbit Sense presented various degrees of accuracy (from high to poor accuracy) dependent on the activity (CVs between 2.44-8.80% and 4.14-10.76%, respectively). As for energy expenditure, all 3 devices displayed poor accuracy for all 5 physical activities (CVs between 14.68-24.85% for Apple Watch 6, 16.54-25.78% for Polar Vantage V and 13.44-29.66% for Fitbit Sense). Results of the present study indicate that the Apple Watch 6 was the most accurate for measuring heart rate across all 5 activities, whereas variable levels of accuracy for heart rate measurement for the Polar Vantage V and the Fitbit Sense were observed depending on the activity. As for energy expenditure, all 3 devices showed poor accuracy during all activities.

Highlights

• The Apple Watch 6 was the most accurate for measuring heart rate, whereas the Polar Vantage V and Fitbit Sense showed variable results dependent on the activity

• The Apple Watch 6, Polar Vantage V and Fitbit Sense showed poor accuracy for energy expenditure during 5 different physical activities

• Healthcare care professionals, athletes/coaches and the general population may want to proceed with caution on the clinical utility of energy expenditure of these devices during the implementation of an exercise training or nutritional programme.

KEYWORDS:

• Apple Watch 6
• Polar Vantage V
• Fitbit Sense
• metamax 3B and physical activities

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Jeanne Breault-Mallette, Laurent Jutras, Alexandra Lavoie-Lechasseur and Carole Roy for their technical assistance as well as the participants who accepted to be part of this study. The results of the study are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Sources of support

This study was supported by start-up funds from the Université du Québec à Montréal. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Gilles Gouspillou is supported by a Chercheur Boursier Junior 2 salary award from the FRQS.

Authors’ contributions

ADK, ASC, GG and GHB designed the research; MALD conducted the research; ADK, MALD and GHB analyzed the data; GHB and MALD wrote the first draft of the manuscript; ADK, ASC and GG contributed to the writing of the manuscript; ADK had primary responsibility for the design, writing and final content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Université du Québec à Montréal: [Grant Number Non applicable].