Healthy Helpers of Hindrance?

“Fit” media has become as common as social media, whether it be through the sharing of workouts on fitness tracker apps or fit inspiration Instagrammers showcasing their everyday meals. With the blurring of lines between health and obsession, is there a time to say enough?

“They’re a bit addictive,” said Lucie Wicker, a Boston-based fitness lifestyle and activewear photographer. “I’ve had one for years and have upgraded several times. Are there unhealthy or narcissistic extremes? Of course. But generally speaking, leading an active lifestyle brings happiness. [Fitbits] are doing good.”

However, a 2016 study from the Brunel University in London says differently. The study suggests that people who are constantly posting about their personal fitness routines online have low self-esteem and crave validation—yet, active Fitbit users are physical proof that monitoring your activity with technology allows individuals, and even their friends, to hold themselves accountable for living a healthier life.

“My mom stopped making time for working out when she went back to work full time, but buying a FitBit and taking part in ‘weekly step challenges’ with her friends motivated her to get back to the gym,” says Shaelah Foresman (COM ’19). “Even if her only motivation for doing so was to post her scores on social media for the public gratification, the fact of the matter is that it got her working out.”

Foresman herself used to be skeptical of the fit-tech craze, but has since then bought an Apple watch.

“We can’t stop these social media and fitness crazes from permeating our society, so if they can at least be used in a way that will motivate people to get active, I’m all for hopping on board,” Foresman said.

Even though Fitbits may seem like the new fitness statement of our generation, fitness technology is actually still an up-and-coming industry. Arnar Larusson, co-founder of the new Boston wearable-tech company Tyme Wear, believes there’s still a lot of ground to be covered.

“Our collective understanding is that there are things we can measure about our bodies that will help us achieve better health or performance,” said Larusson. “And for certain populations of people, the current devices have played an important role in extending their life expectancy and quality of life. For example, I used to design prosthetics for amputees and over 90 percent of people getting prosthetics have Type 2 Diabetes. The leading cause of Type 2 Diabetes is eating the wrong things and not being active enough, meaning that, in most cases, it’s a preventable disease. For someone in that situation, having a tool that creates awareness, motivation and behavior changes that range from 100 steps to 1,000 steps or more per day can mean the difference of getting a limb amputated or not.”

Tyme Wear, which will be launching sometime this winter, is a line of smart clothing that monitors your exercise, breathing and endurance and provides feedback through its app. Similar to Fitbits, Tyme Wear wants its tech to become accessible to the recreational athlete. Larusson comes from a family of doctors, and his focus on further developing wearable tech stems from not only the mindset of an innovator and engineer, but the mindset of a concerned citizen.

“What a fitness tracker does is give someone the benefit of knowing something they otherwise would have been completely oblivious to,” said Larusson. “It’s next to impossible to be completely aware of everything happening in your legs as you walk, but [because of fitness trackers], that information is accessible to us. Now, imagine knowing the same with your heartbeat, your breathing, your hormone levels, and skin hydration. Having easy access and interpretation of that information can be an immensely useful gauge for our health.”

As for the social media components of fitness trackers, Larusson feels indifferent. “

Within this health awareness movement, there are campaigns to deter smoking, drunk driving and not wearing a seatbelt. And for those campaigns, social proof played a big role in their success,” Larusson said. “So, if someone needs social proof that they’re healthy by posting that they ran five miles on Facebook, let them have it.”

According to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, one in every five Americans owned some piece of wearable ‘fit’ technology in 2014, a number that is expected to be considerably lower than current percentages. With the addition of Apple watches, smart scales and an abundance of fitness apps, it’s hard to argue that this ‘wearable fit tech’ trend is actually a trend at all.

Wicker also predicts longevity for the future of wearable fit tech.

“Being healthy and fit makes people look and feel good,” she said. “It’s that simple.”

By Sophia Lipp | Photography by Sofia Koyama | Design by Jami Rubin