BioActive sensor on Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 helps prevent obesity: Study

(Image Courtesy: Samsung)

A medical study by a joint research team from Louisiana State University, Pennington Biomedical Research and the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, has determined that the BioActive sensor module on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 could help prevent obesity.

The study used the body composition measurements taken from the Galaxy Watch 4 Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) sensor and compared to results from a laboratory-grade octapolar bioelectrical impedance analysis.

The researchers found that when compared, the Galaxy Watch 4's BIA measurement had up to 98 percent similarities with laboratory tests. The devices were compared on reference analysis on fat-free mass measurements, fat mass, skeletal muscle mass, basal metabolic rate, and total body water.

The study concluded that the, "wearable bioimpedance device can help users monitor their body composition and improve their health by changing their diet and exercise behaviors".

Samsung said that, "The ability to self-monitor one’s behavior, particularly with data derived from wearables, improves the user’s understanding of their behavior patterns, which resulted in an increase in physical activity in nearly 60 percent of users".

Besides this, a randomized control trial found the wearables decrease sedentary time by 68 minutes on average. A meta-analysis of the effects of wearable activity trackers showed an increase of more than 2500 steps by people who use them.