Fitbit Sees Global Step Counts Drop as Coronavirus Forces People to Stay Home
If your daily commute now consists of rolling out of bed and wandering to your desk, you’re likely logging fewer steps than you might on a regular day—and Fitbit has the data to prove it.
The company has been studying how the ongoing pandemic has been affecting Fitbit users when millions of people are now staying at home to avoid contracting the illness. The results are not great. Last week, Fitbit saw year-over-year activity declines ranging from 7 percent to as much as 38 percent, depending on the country.
“As communities adapt to social distancing, it’s no surprise that almost all of the countries we studied experienced a statistically significant decline in average step count compared to the same time last year,” Fitbit wrote in a blog post.
Some of the biggest drops occurred in European countries hit hard by the coronavirus. Spain posted a 38 percent drop while Italy’s decline came in at 25 percent.
The US, on the other hand, only posted a 12 percent drop. However, many states, including Texas, have refrained from imposing state-wide lockdowns.
Nevertheless, Fitbit also supplied data for several US cities, including New York and San Francisco, which have both shut down all non-essential businesses to prevent the illness from spreading. According to the stats, users in both cities are logging 20 percent fewer steps than they did a year ago.
The same study indicates the coronavirus means many people are not reaching the 10,000-step-per-day goal Fitbit’s activity trackers typically recommend.
The most pronounced drop occurred in China earlier this year when the country was still struggling to combat the illness. The step count in China plummeted in mid-February to near 6,000 steps. However, the numbers are beginning to recover as the country has been easing the lockdowns to contain the virus.
To encourage people to stay fit, the company is recommending users try out the free 90-day trial for Fitbit Premium, which normally costs $9.99 a month. The app offers up “guided programs” and workouts to help you eat, sleep, and exercise better. You can also check out our recommendations on the best apps for working out at home.
How Fitbit pulled the data from users wasn’t entirely made clear in the blog post. But in the past the company has anonymized user data, and analyzed it in aggregate form to share research insights. You can find out more in the company’s privacy policy.
