Apple Watch Health info - any good ?

[eddie1]

Anyone using an Apple Watch to monitor health - how are you finding it?
I currently use a Fitbit to count steps it also gives me some info on sleep. Curious to see how much more info the recent Apple Watches give and how useful it is.?
Thx

[shoppy]

All depends which version you have, my watch 9 and series 2 collect the world of information which I like the fitbits when I used them were very basic.
I will type up some of the categories of data fields.
Cardio fitness
Vo2
Heart rate, heart rate variability
Physical effort
Resting heart rate
Sleep
Stages of sleep and wrist temp
Water amounts
Workouts
Resting energy
Environment noise
Weight
Stair speed down and up
Steps stride distance
Walking stride
Time in daylight
Respiratory rate
Headphone audio levels
Mood
Cardio recovery
Blood glucose
Anxiety, depression risk
Running power
Walking power
State of mind and so many more.

[higham5]

I have an iphone so can access some of the data shoppy has listed above eg steps walking steadyness etc. I went with a simple Garmin watch a Forunner 45. One of the reasons apart from cost (Garmin £105) was battery life. I get four to five days so I can monitor three consecutive nights. Plus I ride or walk every day and Im poor at remembering to charge it. At the time when I was looking Apple watches were appx 24/36 hr batt life.

Turning to your question how “ useful” is the data. I use resting heart rate and “ body battery” as a measure of recovery. Certainly things like last weeks covid booster jab sent my HR and recovery stats haywire.

If you are an iphone user and you want a really data rich source there is no doubt an Apple watch will ace it. If cost is a consideration then the basic Garmin is worth considering.

[eddie1]

Thanks that’s helpful

[boris9]

Versus professional grade equipment it is likely not very accurate data from the Apple Watch, however, as a tool for tracking general levels of activity and improvements in overall fitness levels it is very good.

I’ve been using an Apple Watch for running and cycling tracking for a number of years now and it is very good at showing me whether I am more or less active over a period of time vs previously, and it also gives me a good feeling for my overall fitness levels via the VO2 measurements, running pace, resting heart rate etc

Personally I wouldn’t use data such as HRV to determine recovery or readiness to train, but as a trend tracking data source I think it’s a very good piece of kit given the amount of data available to you.


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[Boss13]

All depends which version you have, my watch 9 and series 2 collect the world of information which I like the fitbits when I used them were very basic.
I will type up some of the categories of data fields.
Cardio fitness
Vo2
Heart rate, heart rate variability
Physical effort
Resting heart rate
Sleep
Stages of sleep and wrist temp
Water amounts
Workouts
Resting energy
Environment noise
Weight
Stair speed down and up
Steps stride distance
Walking stride
Time in daylight
Respiratory rate
Headphone audio levels
Mood
Cardio recovery
Blood glucose
Anxiety, depression risk
Running power
Walking power
State of mind and so many more.

I am a big fan of AW although they have greatly reduced time I wear a real watch, due to wanting the data.
However, just to clarify - I don't think it monitors all of above. For example, mood / state of mind and many others on your list - it may have a field where you can record it manually - but it will not estimate it for you.
Is that what you meant, or am I missing out on a host of funcionality?

[RobM]

That's right - that list is what Apple Health can store, rather than what the Watch specifically captures.

More generally, as with all consumer-grade devices, what you want more than accuracy is consistency. If, for example, it over-estimates something by 10% that's fine if it's always over by 10%, as you're looking for comparisons and trends more than anything. The Apple Watch is about as accurate as any other consumer product for activity, heart measurements, etc, but it's one of the more consistent devices.

That said, there have been tests of some of its sensors and it's very accurate for things like sleep tracking, blood oxygen, ECG, AFib, etc. But in all likelihood you'll use it mostly for activity tracking, VHR and resting heart rate, sleep tracking, and that's about it. There's a sample and some more info here: https://www.apple.com/uk/healthcare/apple-watch/