Fitness, health and data tracking wearables don’t just help you track your daily step count – a new study has found that wearing one can help people lose weight.
Researchers from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in the US examined previous studies on the topic and concluded fitness trackers can help people shed pounds and reduce their body mass index (BMI).
Wearables have come a long way over the past few years and do more than just remind you to move.
From measuring your sleep stages to reminding you to build a personalised activity plan, here are the best to help you stay on course with your weight loss goals – whatever your budget…
Best budget fitness trackers 2021
1. Budget: Huawei Band 4, £29 (ao.com)
This watch comes in three colours (black, pink and red) and with various watch faces, so you can change its style to suit your mood.
The watch itself can help you detect the level of oxygen in your blood, and also prompts you with intelligent reminders if your heart rate exceeds the maximum average heart rate. It has a built-in USB plug so you don’t need to lug around a charging cable either.
2. Not too pricey: Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5, £39.99, (mi.com)
The Mi Smart Band 5 is one of the best on the cheaper end of wearables, delivering all the core fitness tracking features you need, like 24/7 sleep and activity data, heart rate and GPS tracking.
We also like that it pulls through smartphone notifications so you’ll never miss an important text or email.
3. Mid-range: Fitbit charge 4, £129.99, (argos.co.uk)
This sleek band features built-in GPS so you can map your runs, sleep tracking, and an impressive seven days of battery life.
As well as linking to your Spotify and pulling through your phone notifications, it also tracks your heart rate zones so you can tell how hard you’re working in your fitness sessions. It’s swimproof too.
4. Pushing the purse strings: Polar Ignite Fitness Watch, £174.50, (polar.com)
This watch is an investment, but if you’re serious about your fitness, it’s a reliable training companion.
One of its key features is its ready-made, on-demand workouts that match your recovery and readiness based on your data.
On top of the essentials, like daily activity tracking, steps and calories, the Ignite gives you a detailed insight into your sleep stages and how well you recover from the day, during the night.
Taking a holistic approach to fitness, we also like that the watch has breathing and meditation exercises to help you build mental resilience, as well as those physical gains.
5. Absolute blow out: Garmin Forerunner 945, £499.99, (garmin.com)
If you’re a data lover that’s got a big budget to play with, you might want to splash out on something more expensive, like Garmin’s newest Forerunner model.
Made for runners, it’s got a built-in coach that creates adaptive training plans to suit your fitness level, helping you nudge your way to achievable goals.
It also tracks a host of running metrics such as cadence, stride length, ground contact time and balance.