By Sarah Berger, International Business Times, SouthFloridaReporter.com, Jan. 5, 2016 – For Kendall Lake, 19, her Fitbit serves as a signal to how much exercise she is getting every day, motivating her to step it up if she needs to. She received the fitness wristband last year for Christmas, and donned the black band nearly every day for six months. Lake, a student at the University of Georgia, tracks everything from her sleep to her steps.
“I really enjoy checking my progress in the Fitbit app throughout the day to see how many steps I’m taking,” said Lake, who is originally from Marietta, Georgia. “If I’m low, it may motivate me to go exercise, and if I’m high, it’s a rewarding feeling to know that I’m being healthy. I think Fitbit has impacted my health because it’s a very quantifiable measurement instead of just saying, ‘Oh, I took a walk today.’”
After the champagne-infused hangover subsides and the food coma that accompanies the holiday season finally fades, people across the country have traditionally hit the gym and adopted new dieting techniques, motivated by the new year to make lasting health and fitness changes. This year, as more and more people receive trendy, wearable fitness technology as holiday gifts, devices like the Fitbit are increasingly changing the health and fitness landscape, especially for millennials. But some health and nutrition industry experts said that while wearable technology will likely continue to be one of the biggest trends in 2016, there are drawbacks to relying solely on technology to reach health and fitness goals.
