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. 2024 Aug 8:6:1400369.
doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2024.1400369. eCollection 2024.

Smartwatch step counting: impact on daily step-count estimation accuracy

Peter Düking  1 , Jana Strahler  2 , André Forster  3 , Birgit Wallmann-Sperlich  4 , Billy Sperlich  5
Affiliations

Smartwatch step counting: impact on daily step-count estimation accuracy

Peter Düking et al. Front Digit Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: The effect of displayed step count in smartwatches on the accuracy of daily step-count estimation and the potential underlying psychological factors have not been revealed. The study aimed for the following: (i) To investigate whether the counting and reporting of daily steps by a smartwatch increases the daily step-count estimation accuracy and (ii) to elucidating underlying psychological factors.

Methods: A total of 34 healthy men and women participants wore smartwatches for 4 weeks. In week 1 (baseline), 3 (follow-up 1), and 8 (follow-up 2), the number of smartwatch displayed steps was blinded for each participant. In week 2 (Intervention), the number of steps was not blinded. During baseline and follow-ups 1 and 2, the participants were instructed to estimate their number of steps four times per day. During the 4-week wash-out period between follow-ups 1 and 2, no feedback was provided. The Body Awareness Questionnaire and the Body Responsiveness Questionnaire (BRQ) were used to elucidate the psychological facets of the assumed estimation accuracy.

Results: The mean absolute percentage error between the participants' steps count estimations and measured steps counts were 29.49% (at baseline), 0.54% (intervention), 11.89% (follow-up 1), and 15.14% (follow-up 2), respectively. There was a significant effect between baseline and follow-up 1 [t (61.7) = 3.433, p < 0.001] but not between follow-up 1 and follow-up 2 [t (60.3) = -0.288, p = 0.774]. Only the BRQ subscale "Suppression of Bodily Sensations" appeared to be significant at the Baseline (p = 0.012; Bonferroni adjusted p = 0.048) as a factor influencing step-count estimation accuracy.

Conclusion: The counting and reporting of daily steps with a smartwatch allows improving the subjective estimation accuracy of daily step counts, with a stabilizing effect for at least 6 weeks. Especially individuals who tend to suppress their bodily sensations are less accurate in their daily step-count estimation before the intervention.

Keywords: eHealth; innovation; mHealth; smartwatch; technology; wearable.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) BS declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental design.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bland-Altmann plots for estimations of steps and step counts measured by the smartwatch at Baseline, Intervention, Follow-up 1 and 2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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