Want to lose weight? Put your wearable money toward a gym membership

Fitbit, Jawbone, and the Microsoft Band, all of these fitness trackers have exploded on the scene for weight loss. Millions of people track their steps and enter their diets in these app as a way to lose those extra pounds, but do these wearables actually help us lose more weight than if we had just dieted and exercised alone?

According to a study published by JAMA, you might want to put your money toward a gym membership instead.

The number of obese Americans continues to rise. While studies have shown that fitness wearables help people lose a moderate amount of weight in the short-term, information on long-term weight loss is not very abundant. This study aimed to prove if these wearable actually help people lose more weight than if they had just exercised and dieted without the aids.

The study, conducted at the University of Pittsburgh between October 2010 and October 2012, measured weight in six month intervals. Some 470 participants with a range of BMI from 25 to more than 40 were enrolled. Participants were all placed on a low calorie diet, instructed to exercise and had group counseling sessions.

After six months, researchers conducted telephone counseling sessions, text message check-ins and provided information on a website. At this point, the participants were split in two, one group was given a wearable device while the other, the standard group, began self-monitoring of diet and exercise on a website.

The starting average weight of the wearable group was 212.3 pounds and after two years fell to 196.9 pounds. The average weight of the standard group started at 209.9 pounds, and after two years fell to 204.6 pounds. Over the period of two years, the mean weight lost in the wearable group was 7.7 pounds while the standard group had a loss of 13 pounds, a difference of 5.3 pounds. “Among young adults with a BMI between 25 and less than 40, the addition of a wearable technology device to a standard behavioral intervention resulted in less weight loss over 24 months,” wrote John M. Jakicic, PhD, led author on the study and colleagues. “Devices that monitor and provide feedback on physical activity may not offer an advantage over standard behavioral weight loss approaches.”

“In this study, the addition of wearable technology to a behavioral intervention was less effective for 24-month weight loss,” continued Jakicic and colleagues. “This may be a result of the technology not being as effective for changing diet or physical activity behaviors compared with what was achieved with the standard intervention; however, the study found no significant difference in these measures between the standard intervention and enhanced intervention groups. Thus, the reason for this difference in weight loss between the standard intervention and enhanced intervention groups warrants further investigation.”