Thousands of people in Portugal and around the world trust their smartwatches to measure calories burned during physical exercise. After finishing their workout, they look at their wrist and see a number, such as 500 calories, and feel that the mission has been accomplished. However, the accuracy of this data can be questionable.
Studies and specialists in health and technology have warned that the algorithms used by smartwatches to calculate caloric expenditure are frequently based on generic estimates rather than actual individual measurements. The devices use sensors such as accelerometers and heart rate monitors, but this data does not always accurately reflect each person's actual effort.
The issue is that every body is different, and factors such as age, weight, body composition, fitness level and even genetics significantly influence caloric expenditure. A smartwatch cannot measure all these variables precisely, which can lead to significant overestimation or underestimation of calories burned.
This phenomenon can have practical consequences: those who use this data to manage their diet or control their weight may be making incorrect calculations. The recommendation from specialists is not to blindly trust the numbers displayed by these devices and to consider these readings as approximate estimates, not exact values.
