Can a Fitness Tracker Detect When You're Getting Sick?

Today’s fitness trackers can track steps, monitor your sleep, give you GPS location, monitor heart rate and even your VO2 max data for runners. I am sure that there are many more additional upgrades that will be realized in the very near future.

A recent study, published from Stanford University, found over-the-counter fitness trackers may share enough data with the user to warn of an impending illness. Recognition and treatment of illness and disease early in development may reduce the overall physical and financial burden to the individual, family and community.

Researchers recorded over 250,000 daily measurements on over 40 people for up to two years, tracking circadian and physiological parameters, making several observations leading to a recommendation for further study.

Changes in baseline heart rate and temperature measurements indicating oncoming illness were detected, sometimes before the individual even recognized feeling sick in any way.

Information about weight, heart rate, blood oxygen, skin temperature, calories burned and activity were gathered on the participants.

The researchers were able to detect early signs of getting sick.

Researchers also envision health tracking devices would be a powerful means of tracking health for individuals who are responsible for others, such as caregivers of elderly parents.

Individuals living in remote areas or who have limited access to health care may also benefit from devices that load data to a computer or the cloud for analysis each day.

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