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Can wearables help the fght against Covid-19?
Whether you want to get physically more active or train for sports, tracking your ftness is going to be easier with a ftness tracker. These wearable devices help you lead a ftter and healthier life, as they easily track your ftness level, and they might even add protection against Covid-19.
“FITNESS TRACKERS ARE A GREAT tool for your heart health,” says Johns Hopkins cardiologist Seth Martin. Recent research suggests that these wearables can do even more. A paper published in Nature Medicine reports that ftness trackers are capable of identifying cases of COVID-19 by evaluating changes in heart rate, sleep and activity levels. This approach may identify cases with greater success than looking at symptoms alone.
Good reasons to wear a ftness tracker, but which device is right for you? It depends on what you are looking for.
In-depth metrics
PICTURE: GARMIN
The Garmin Vivoactive 3 packs a surprising number of features into a compact timepiece.
It includes ftness monitoring, such as VO2 max and fitness age estimate, as well as all-day stress tracking and relaxation-based breathing timer. Sports apps include yoga, cardio, strength training, running, swimming and many more.
Using the Garmin Connect app, you can even enable Abnormal Heart Rate Alerts, so it will notify you if your heart rate is unusually high or low.
The Vivoactive features a color touch screen with a durable Corning Gorilla Glass cover, a fber-reinforced polymer case, a stainless steel bezel, and is rated 5ATM for water resistance. www.garmin.com
Tracker/smartwatch hybrid
The Fitbit Versa 3 offers more smartwatch features than any other ftness tracker. It has a built-in microphone and support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, so you can use voice control to set alarms, ask questions, or check the weather forecast. In addition to this smartwatch functionality, the Versa 3 offers the usual ftness features, such as activity and sleep tracking, heart-rate monitoring, and automatic workout detection. It also offers integrated GPS for distance tracking and a blood oxygen sensor. www.ftbit.com
Smartphone integration
The Samsung Galaxy Fit is a sleek tracker wristband with an easy-to-use interface and a long battery life. The 240 by 120 pixels
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It accurately measures workouts, heart rate, and sleep. You pair the tracker to your phone via Bluetooth with the dedicated Galaxy Fit app. You can also connect it with the Samsung Health app, which will then show a variety of different metrics including ftness goals, steps, heart rate, weight, and more on its dashboard. www.samsung.com
Function meets elegance
The Withings Steel HR is different in that it combines smartwatch features with the classic look of an analog watch. It has a round face with hour marks around the edges, two hands, and a button on the side.
PICTURE: WHITHINGS
Inside this housing it packs a heart rate infrared sensor, motion sensor, and a three-axis accelerometer. The Steel HR doesn’t have its own GPS, but connects to your phone to tell the distance you’ve gone. The watch automatically recognizes and records certain workout types, and you can manually select 30 more exercises. In the companion smartphone app you can get a post-workout summary, showing a map of your activities and heart rate zones. www.withings.com
