STAT, a US-based health and medicine publication, did an article claiming that wearable fitness trackers were less accurate for dark-skinned people than for the light-skinned. Here is how it works: a green light is sent to the bloodstream, and a receptor reads the light reflected. In this way, by reading how the light reflected goes up and down, the gadgets can keep a count of your heartbeat. Does this mean that those with darker skins should avoid fitness trackers? Dr Rajat Chauhan, founder of Back 2 Fitness, a sports-medicine clinic, says that the point of fitness trackers is “to find out what kind of zone you’re exercising in: high intensity, or low intensity, depending on what your resting heart rate is.” That works even if your heart rate reading is not accurate.

Source: The Hindu September 30, 2019 04:52 UTC