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Science-backed reasons to question the safety of digital fitness trackers like the Fitbit and how to protect yourself if you choose to use one.
A Fitbit is a type of electronic device used for personal activity tracking. These wireless-enabled, wearable devices measure data such as the number of steps walked, quality of sleep, and other personal metrics.
The Fitbit was developed by the company of the same name founded and managed by James Park and Eric Friedman.
Since then, a proliferation of various styles and models have taken the workout world by storm. There are now similar knock-off devices crafted for every personality and need.
The very simple Fitbit Zip, which is about the size of a quarter, tracks only steps taken, distance traveled, and calories burned. The sophisticated Fitbit Flex, which is worn 24 hours a day even while showering and swimming, tracks all its wearer’s movement including sleep patterns.
There are Fitbit apps for the iPhone and Android too which allow fans to log their food, activities, water intake, and weight, as well as track their fitness goals throughout the day even while offline.
While these types of devices may seem like a very helpful tool to keep people motivated and moving toward exercise goals, I don’t personally use one. I also don’t recommend them to people who ask me about them (by the way, a fascia blaster isn’t healthy either).
Here are my science-backed reasons.
Exercise is About Relaxation, Movement and Stress Reduction
For me, exercise is primarily about movement, relaxation, and stress reduction. It frees the mind from the cares of the day for a short period of time.
Adding a lot of data and personal activity tracking to the mix is decidedly un-relaxing to me. I don’t want my every breath, step and heartbeat chronicled, tracked, and categorized as I go through my workout whether it be a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood or a high-intensity rebounding session on our outdoor trampoline.
Tracking my steps around the house as I do laundry, cook, and wash dishes seems very over the top and rather invasive too. Can’t we just enjoy our exercise and daily activities without having to micromanage and examine every aspect under a microscope?
This takes much of the joy, relaxation and ultimately, health benefits out of it, in my opinion!
Exercise is not primarily about weight loss either at least to me. It’s about getting the blood pumping to facilitate the body’s detoxification mechanisms and to build and maintain muscle, fitness, and balance. Simple burning of calories may help you lose weight but this alone never got anyone healthy, so why bother tracking exercise at such an elementary, two-dimensional level?
While some may find Fitbits helpful to the exercise process, to me, they detract from the psychological benefits of exercise enjoyment by micromanaging what should be experienced in an expansive manner.
Fitbit: Unnecessary Exposure to EMF Radiation
There are pictures available that show actual wireless radiation surrounding a person using a wireless-enabled device. You can see photographer Luis Hernan’s incredible photos here.
While it is basically impossible to get away from the constant bathing of the body in wireless radiation while at work or in a public place, exercise particularly in the outdoors offers a prime opportunity for rest and release from the onslaught of electromagnetic fields (EMF) for a brief period of time.
It makes no sense, at least to me, to be hooked up to a device like a Fitbit that emits any sort of EMF radiation while exercising which is already putting the body under physical stress from sweating and detoxification.
A Fitbit that people wear while sleeping seems most dangerous of all. There is absolutely no data proving the safety of these devices during sleep even though the user manuals claim that “This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment.”
Quality sleep is very important for maintaining a healthy weight. Research has shown that poor quality sleep causes weight problems. Even just a few nights of poor sleep can lead to almost immediate weight gain. (1)
Are Fitbit night wearers undoing daytime weight loss efforts?
In fact, sleep and good health are so inextricably linked that many holistic medical practitioners recommend turning all wireless sources off at night with some going so far as to recommend flipping the entire house breaker until morning! The reason? The EMF radiation swirling around you may negatively affect sleep in a very profound way over the long term.
I’ve written before about how wireless baby monitors aren’t a good idea for sleeping babies. Fitbits worn during sleep transmitting data via wireless are a bad idea for similar reasons.
According to PowerWatch, a wireless baby monitor at less than 1 meter away from the baby’s crib was roughly equivalent to cell tower radiation standing only 150 meters (about one-tenth of a mile) away. (2)
How much worse would a wireless-enabled Fitbit be that is worn on your physical person as you exercise or sleep?
Metal in Your Mouth Can Make the Problem Worse
Interestingly, if you have dental amalgams (silver fillings) or titanium implants, this may make the wireless radiation from constantly wearing a digital fitness device even more problematic. According to Lina Garcia, DDS, DMD:
When considering the numerous reasons for the increasing prevalence of chronic illness in our society, I think that we should not overlook the possibility that metal-containing dental work, especially titanium implants, could be acting like antennas for the microwave [which includes wireless] transmissions going on between our cell phones and all of the cell phone towers in our 21st century environment.
… it is important to be aware that metal dental restorations and implants have already been shown to cause galvanic and electromagnetic stress for the human body. Galvanic and electromagnetic stress occurs when an unnatural electric current is generated by metal ions interacting with the electrolyte-rich fluid known as saliva. (3)
If you doubt that you are surrounded by very strong wireless radiation while wearing a wireless-enabled device be it a cell phone or a Fitbit, you can now download an app that will give you a colorful visual on those waves invisibly surrounding you with blue indicating the strongest wireless radiation down to red which indicates the weakest signal.
Heavy Metal Exposure?
In March 2014, the Consumer Product Safety Commission officially recalled the Fitbit Force due to injuries to an estimated 9,900 people. These customers suffered from skin irritations such as blisters, rashes, and peeling skin after the continual wearing of the Fitbit Force for a period of time. Fitbit stated that after consulting with medical professionals, the general assessment is that the skin problems were likely allergic reactions to nickel, an alloy in the stainless steel or adhesives used to assemble the Fitbit Force.
While it is well known that ingesting heavy metals like nickel can cause health problems, what is less well known is that the skin can absorb heavy metals too. (4, 5)
Cooking acidic foods in stainless steel is known to leech alloys like nickel into the food, but could stainless steel placed on the skin which is normally acidic at a pH of 4.5-5.5 leech metals too? Even minute amounts of heavy metals in the body can have negative health consequences so this is far from a trivial concern. (6)
Until there are more research and definitive answers to this question, it seems prudent to be wary of products like the Fitbit Force that expose the skin to heavy metals for extended periods of time.
Must Have a Fitbit?
If you find that despite any health concerns, you simply must have a digital fitness device to track personal activities, my suggestion would be to seek one of the older models that work mechanically rather than digitally.
For example, a basic mechanical pedometer counts steps by measuring how much the body shakes. An internal object moves up and down with the motion of the person wearing the pedometer, which senses the vibrations of feet hitting the floor. As the ball moves, it activates a switch that clicks the counter forward.
You can tell that you have a mechanical pedometer as it will work simply by shaking it even without any walking involved.
My Experience Using a Fitbit Scale
While I don’t wear a Fitbit like device for the reasons cited above, I did use a Fitbit scale once a few months back. These devices measure BMI, body fat and other health statistics by sending an electrical signal through the body.
While the companies making these scales insist the signal shot through the body to gather the data is safe, the scale isn’t recommended for pregnant women, children under 10, or anyone with an implanted medical device.
Mmmmm.
While I do not consider myself EMF sensitive in any way, I felt immediately light-headed and fatigued after having my health statistics gathered by the Fitbit scale. The experience really surprised me, as I didn’t expect a single-use to produce such a reaction. I didn’t feel right until a number of hours later.
Needless to say, I won’t be using a Fitbit type of scale again in the future!
Electronic Weight Loss Device Use is a Personal Decision
While choosing to use products like the Fitbit ultimately is a personal decision like whether or not to put a cellphone up to your head, in my book, it seems important to learn to switch off from our constant exposure to electronic devices and EMF radiation.
Exercise and sleep are the most obvious times to give yourself both a mental and physical break from EMF exposure.
Do you use a Fitbit? What are your reasons for doing so and do the potential health risks concern you?
References
(1) Lost Sleep Can Lead to Weight Gain
(2) Strength of Microwave Technologies
(3) Has Your Dental Work Turned You Into a Walking Antenna?
(4) Heavy Metal Toxicity Raises Risk of EMF Sensitivity
(5) The Health Hazards of Heavy Metals
(6) Toxic Metals Is This Why You’re Feeling Sick?
More Information
Are AMR Devices Safer than Smart Meters?
The Dangers of Induction Stoves (and what to buy instead)
Reducing Exposure to Dirty Electricity
Harvard MD Speaks Out about the Health Dangers of Smart Meters
How to Protect Yourself from a Smart Meter
I bought my Fitbit flex In February of 2015. Since then I have lost over 25 pounds just by walking. I feel I fine while wearing it and have had no reactions whatsoever. Basically anything in this world can make us sick or kill us so I’m not going to live my life being scared of what could happen. If I did that then I would never leave my house. But everyone is entitled to their opinion. I’m just never giving up my Fitbit. It makes exercising fun and part of my routine.
I own a Fitbit HR since 6 months and I wear it 7/24, I have a Fitbit Scale Aria since then too. I am very sensitive to mobile phones and cannot stay too long talking with my mobile. I don’t feel any difference with Fitbit. I feel perfectly fine. It’s an easy way to make you realise if you do enough in our society that most people have a sedentary job, it’s pretty important to control ourselves. Is it risks free, probably not but comparing to your wifi environment, mobile, microwave if you use it…. Fitbit products are close to harmless from my point of view.
I am very concerned with the technology surrounding us in the forms of the various radiations and it is nice to know I am not alone. My entire family uses fitbit and track each other to see who walks the most. My sister bought one for her 12 year old daughter and I told her that it is not safe and to do her research as she already knows my feeling on them. The common response I get is everything is bad for you so whatever! Well, I do not use wifi in my home, I do have a cell phone but turn it off at home, and yes I have a landline ! I live in the forest so I have beautiful negative ions surrounding me when I go home. I believe that if we reduce our exposure the best we can our lives become more balanced. Disease whether chronic or acute comes from an imbalance in our lives. Look at how out of balance our society is. I believe everything we do to keep our balance benifits the planet!
I simply don’t understand why people nowadays feel the need to micromanage, micro-process, and micro-analyze every second of their lives for the supposed goal of fitness, health, etc.. They don’t realize that it is this very over-stimulation and constant connection to technology that is doing them the most harm. People have always found ways of being healthy without relying on fancy, expensive, intrusive, and ultimately useless little gadgets. Also, has anybody thought of the possibility of the government/companies using this information to track/spy on/control them?
My daughter bought me a FitBit HR for Mothers Day. I wore it 24/7. I’ve noticed that my memory has declined since then – difficulty coming up with familiar words. I used it on my left wrist and when I sleep I often put that arm under my pillow. I don’t wear it anymore since I feel it impacted my memory.
i lost my baby through wearing my fitbit, as soon as i put it on, i started bleeding heavily within two days and after a week of wearing it 24/7, i realised it was the only thing i had done different, i took it off and i stopped bleeding within 24 hours.
they are dangerous.
Sarah, thank you for this post. I was considering a Fitbit and while looking at them wondered about the effects of wearing something with Wifi and I found your article which solidified my opinon on getting one. I wanted to ask if you happen to know if sleeping next to a Cpap with Wifi would be harmful. I was not given a choice of which Cpap machine I could have and was given one with Wifi. I have concerns about sleeping next to it at night. I’d like to find out if it’s harmful so I can fight it if it is. Thank you.
Yes, sleeping next to a wifi device all night long is problematic. Ironic since a cpap machine is supposed to help improve sleep! See if you can turn off the wifi part of it.
Fitbits are another microwave transmitter so close to your body and without doubt a potential risk to health as microwaves are readily absorbed by body tissue and can interfere with cellular functions – inducing oxidative stress and disrupting ion channels in membranes for example. I have measured levels of EMR emissions and they are quite high. Wireless monitoring of any health parameter is potentially dangerous.
i have been looking for a way to track my sleep and the REM-fit was suggested to me and i have done some research newswatchtv.com/2016/02/12/rem-fit/ and was wondering if you thought this would be damaging to me in the long run? thanks for your time
Any device that is strapped to your body and uses wifi or cellular radiation to track biological activity is problematic to health over time.
Thanks Sarah for the article. I had held off on purchasing a fitbit for the info you mentioned but after all my extended family got one, and wanting to lose a few pounds I thought I would get one. What I am curious about is this: Since recently researching more about emf’s radiation etc. I have decided to keep my cell phone on airplane mode most of the time and only check periodically, I can also disable blue tooth on my phone, so technically can’t I still control this way when my fitbit sincs with my phone and thus avoid constant emf throughout the the day, I plan to take it off at the end of the day and let it sinc while I[‘m away in another room for a bit. and then charge it and put my phone back on airplane mode. What do you think of this???
This may work Michelle … see if you can get a model that will function as you need it to in order to keep yourself safe. Don’t wear it while you sleep though.
While there are no exact right or wrongs of having a fitbit… it’s all about choices. Personally I have a fitbit just to track steps and progress. It is also nice to look at what my heartbeat at rest is once in awhile. I don’t even follow the suggestions of keeping to a diet or steps/day. So having a fitbit does not equal to micromanage because no one is forcing you to micromanage. I only chose fitbit because I feel that their sleep tracking, steps, and other features are rather accurate compared to other similar products. I do agree it is rather expensive for a product that tracks nothing but sleep, eat, steps, etc… but it is my choice to get it.
Many people makes assumption and association that their pains come from fitbit automatically without taking into account of all factors. Psychological, that’s what the brain does. Give it another chance. The fitbit does make my wrist feel tired sometimes not so much as hurting. If that’s the case, just take it off for awhile when you are sitting at work for example. The product manual also tells people to wear the product loosely fyi.
As for the sources cited, it seems to cite that radiation is bad for you in general, yes we know this. But do you have sources that target only fitbit products? It sounds like to me that you are telling us not to buy cell phones, because I assure you that cell phones emit more radiation than a fitbit’s bluetooth. If you really want a goodnight’s rest, just don’t look at your cellphone an hour or two before sleep. As for exercises, make sure you eat enough carbs (carbs aren’t good but necessary for exercise – This is a whole other topic).
That being said, the use of fitbit product is all about personal preference. It is good for keeping track of things. And eventually you can learn to eat healthy on your own and can stop using the product.