Current Students and Staff

// University News

1 Sep 2016

Study reveals gap in the market for wearable technologies that monitor sedentary behaviour

Wearable technology to monitor the time you spend being sedentary could encourage changes in behaviour that helps improve health, research reveals.

A study by Loughborough University into the growing number of devices which allow individuals to self-monitor their physical activity and/or sedentary behaviour (sitting behaviour), has found that the latter is under-represented in the wearable tech market.

Researchers from the Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit, conducted a systematic review to identify current measurement technologies available for real-time self-monitoring of sitting behaviour and/or physical activity. A review of 82 technologies showed that 73 were viable for self-monitoring physical activity, but only 9 were suitable for self-monitoring sedentary time.

Sedentary behaviour (prolonged sitting) has proven links to a greater risk of developing chronic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers, and is a global public health problem[1].

The study showed that the self-monitoring of physical activity and/or sedentary behaviour via wearable activity trackers such as Fitbit or LumoBack has a greater role to play in the NHS, by encouraging potent behaviour changes with real-time, personalised feedback.

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