From Runner to Sloth – what’s the value of wristbands ?

 

'....calories were for burning and not counting.....'

At the age of seven I was being taught the rudiments of skiing in the forests above Oslo; by ten I was running everywhere, in my teens I was subjected to rigorous Summer athletics training and as my working life started so I tried to train in 10 day cycles: nine on and one off.  To me and my mates calories were things we burnt and we needed lots of them – we certainly didn’t need to watch them.

But time marches on and drags us all down with it.  In my case it was a matter of going from extreme activity to the normal existence of office life where we tend to take no more exercise than required to replenish our tea or coffee, with the occasional stroll to a meeting or perhaps some long distance travel.  Whatever, these are physically slothful activities in which calories do become important, intakes need to be watched and, if we are not careful, our condition deteriorates.

About two years ago along came a variety of fitness devices – small wristbands that purported to measure activity, and in some cases sleep, calories taken and, in one device, time.  I was instantly entrapped by these things and worked my way through the Nike Fuelband, Jawbone’s UP and now the Fitbit Flex.  Each has its strongpoints, but are they useful or are they just gimmicks ?

After 14 months of trial and error I’ve come to the conclusion that whilst of reduced value to the super-active, they do, within their limits have a very definite place in the lives of we who are members of the vast Tribe of the Human Sloth. 

Why ?

v  They set targets.  For some reason the Health & Fitness industry has decreed that we should move 10,000 steps in each 24 hours and that’s surprisingly difficult to achieve if all you do is go to work by some mechanical means, sit around all day with brain fully engaged but body relaxed, and then go home, possibly via an inviting pub, again by mechanical means.  I’ve noticed that on such a day I rarely surpass 6,000 steps.

v  They measure intake.  After an inactive day it comes as a bit of a shock to see on the App of whichever device you are using, figures in red showing that total calories consumed have exceeded those used up.  We don’t want too many of those days.

v  They provide reminders.  The Fitbit Flex sends little messages when you are getting near the day’s target and then congratulates you if and when you pass the magic 10,000 (it also vibrates at that point, which can cause you to spill that end-of-day glass of wine if the lifting of the latter coincides with the sudden vibration !).

v  They provide competition, which may or may not be a good thing.  These devices can, if you let them, communicate with different social media channels and so allow your friends and colleagues see how you are getting on.  This can introduce an element of fun.  A training regime that has some fun in it will always be more effective than one that’s all about hard work.

As with all things these measurement devices are only effective if used consistently.  Entering food and liquids consumed, and various daily activities can become a bit tiresome.  But if used consistently and with an aim, I do believe that they can change behavior, monitor what we are doing in a positive way and, in some cases, provide clear evidence to our medical minders that we are, or are not, following their guidelines.

I suspect also that we’d better get used to this sort of thing because some day, perhaps not so far off, our Doctors will expect us to pass them a device that they will be able to interrogate as part of their Consultancy in order to find out exactly what’s going on.

The future’s (almost) here !

 

Jonathan Thomson is COO of Branding Science.

As part of our Digital Work, Branding Science has extensive experience with these devices.
For more information, please get in touch!

The Benefits of Becoming a Cyborg: improving outcomes by keeping us honest

 

One of the most exciting current developments in mobile health technology is the increasing availability of smartphone-based health monitoring accessories.  Devices currently on the market are mostly focused on cardiovascular monitoring or diabetes testing, but as the space evolves, more diverse technology will become available. 

Why are these tools so valuable?  At a topline level, it’s because they keep us honest.  As market researchers, we’re well aware of common human biases that affect how all of us self-report information to others.  For instance, humans have an inherent bias towards optimism which may cause us to gloss over negative items in our health history, sometimes depending on how they were experienced (see work from Daniel Kahneman, e.g. Thinking, Fast and Slow, 2011).  We might forget how many times we’ve felt terrible due to a chronic condition; or, at our annual check-up, we may neglect to mention the few small health quirks that made us think “huh, that seems weird, I should mention that at my checkup…” over the previous year, especially if we ultimately felt ok after they had passed.

Further, the way each patient talks about their disease can be unique.  A worried or scared patient with a newly-developed issue might recall their symptoms as much worse than they were at the time.  Or, a patient who’s hoping to avoid medications might gloss over or downplay the significance of their symptoms.

 

For doctors and researchers alike, it’s essential for patients’ health information to be as correct, standardized, and reliable as possible.  Wearable health monitors not only ensure that patient data is collected accurately, but they also allow healthcare providers to capture a wide picture of the patient’s health in a variety of settings, granting a more complete picture of health.  For instance, sometimes a patient may come into a doctor’s office with a complaint that can’t be replicated while the patient is there (e.g. heart palpitations or muscle spasms).  More continuous monitoring of the patient’s health can help doctors to gain an accurate understanding of just how frequently and severely these issues are occurring in the patient’s daily life.

 

Who may want to take advantage of wearable health monitors?

In some cases, patients may feel that their annual readings at a doctors’ office aren’t providing their doctor with a full and accurate picture of health.  For instance, a patient who’s nervous about their blood pressure readings (or even just interacting with a doctor in general) may start to panic right before that test is given, resulting in a reading that’s more extreme than their usual levels and subsequently, a bit of a misdiagnosis.  In a case like this, a portable health monitor worn during the patient’s everyday life could help give a concerned doctor a broader look into the patient’s blood pressure in a variety of settings.

 

Other types of mobile health tools, such as cardiovascular monitors, can save patients the time, cost, and effort of coming into a healthcare provider’s office just to have a certain test done.  Though current technologies may not be at this level yet, in the future, perhaps patients who require regular monitoring after surgery or a prescription change can electronically submit their test results directly and securely to their physician, helping to reduce costs to the patient and freeing up the healthcare staff to spend more time seeing patients for more substantive visits.

 

Some devices, like the Scanadu Scout, are designed for a future where we can all monitor all of our vital signs for early warnings of negative events.  In its early stages, such a device might cause a lot of false alarm, as patients may be unable to make reliable, educated judgments from their data.  However, in time, perhaps systems like these can monitor a range of vital signals and health outcomes that are relevant to an individual’s specific risk profile and baseline health (e.g. perhaps a complex disease runs in one’s family, and monitoring for just one vital or another alone wouldn’t catch it effectively). 

At Branding Science, we’re passionate about information and data, and we’re also firm believers that well-organized data tell a story.  The true value of such monitors is in their ability to work in the context of other forms of treatment and help a physician make sense of a patient’s symptoms and future potential for illness.  We look forward to seeing how current and future technologies make sense of large amounts of health data to make a difference in patients’ lives!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJBL-j6jgt0

Written by Brittani Baxter in our San Francisco Office