TIME

Why fitness trackers aren’t making us healthier

In a study involving Fitbit—using a less techy model than the one above—only 10% of people wore it for a year

ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, WHEN THE first generation of wearable fitness trackers became popular, they were heralded as the dawn of a revolution. Health experts and businesspeople alike said that giving people access to real-time calorie-burning and step-count data would inspire them to lose weight, eat better and—most important—exercise more. But even as the U.S. market for wearable devices hits $7 billion this year, there’s evidence that their promise isn’t

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