How Does Fitbit Calculate Calories Burned?
Calories are calculated using a variety of data provided by the user and information collected by the Fitbit tracker. Here’s what Fitbit uses to measure your daily calorie burn.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Your BMR, or basal metabolic rate, is an estimate of how much energy your body uses while at rest, or when not performing any extraneous activity such as playing sports or running. Fitbit works out a rough estimate of your BMR by using the personal data you provided when filling out your profile such as your height, gender, weight, and age. Other information often used to determine a person’s BMR including breathing rate, blood pressure, and heart rate. This BMR information is why your Fitbit app will show you burning calories even when you haven’t done any exercise and have just been lounging around watching Netflix or Disney+ all day. Your body is burning calories all of the time.
Heart Rate
While Fitbit devices can’t measure your breathing rate and blood pressure, most Fitbit trackers that you wear on your wrist can measure your heart rate and will sync this data to your account to improve the calorie burn estimate. Generally, a higher heart rate means a faster metabolism while a slower heart rate implies that you’re burning calories at a slower rate. Some examples of Fitbit trackers that can measure your heart rate include the Fitbit Ionic, Fitbit Blaze, Fitbit Versa, Fitbit Versa 2, Fitbit Charge 2, Fitbit Charge 3, and the Fitbit Inspire HR.
Daily Steps
All Fitbit trackers can record how many steps you take each day. Not only is this technology used to measure when you’re active, but it’s also helpful for detecting how much you don’t move.
Tracked Exercises
When you log activities in the Fitbit app, Fitbit will estimate the number of calories burned based on the type of activity and how long you were doing it. This number will be added to your daily total.
How to Use the Fitbit Calorie Counter
The Fitbit apps for iOS, Android, and Windows include a calorie-counting feature, which lets you manually log food consumed throughout the day. This feature combines with the calorie burned feature to show you how many calories you’re consuming compared to how many calories you’ve burnt throughout the day. To add Fitbit calorie counting to your app dashboard, go to Discover > Health & Fitness Stats > Food > Add to Today.
