Activity Levels under Fitbit Trainer

[Valerian]

At 59, I am routinely in higher percentiles (80-89%) of activity for my age group, and this corresponds with my daily experience when compared with others my age. I don't drive and live in a city where I do a great deal of walking, and I work out 3-5 times per week. 

Because of this, I've been turned off by the Fitbit Trainer report which assesses me as "lightly active", accompanied by a description which simply is not congruent with my actual activity level. It's very discouraging and doesn't encourage me to use the Trainer app.

Fitbit, should you not align your Trainer activity level assessments with your other measures ie. make them relative to age and more congruent with the activity level percentiles on your site ? I appreciate that percentiles reflect averages rather than ideals, but when someone engages in a healthy lifestyle involving significant amounts of exercise, "lightly active" just isn't accurate.

<script id="ncoEventScript" type="text/javascript">// function DOMContentLoaded(browserID, tabId, isTop, url) { var object = document.getElementById("cosymantecnisbfw"); if(null != object) { object.DOMContentLoaded(browserID, tabId, isTop, url);} }; function Nav(BrowserID, TabID, isTop, isBool, url) { var object = document.getElementById("cosymantecnisbfw"); if(null != object) object.Nav(BrowserID, TabID, isTop, isBool, url); }; function NavigateComplete(BrowserID, TabID, isTop, url) { var object = document.getElementById("cosymantecnisbfw"); if(null != object) object.NavigateComplete(BrowserID, TabID, isTop, url); } function Submit(browserID, tabID, target, url) { var object = document.getElementById("cosymantecnisbfw"); if(null != object) object.Submit(browserID, tabID, target, url); }; // </script>

[A_Lurker]

@willpl03 - the BMR calculator that I use calls Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk).  So if you're doing 2 training sessions a week and 6500-7000 steps daily then you probably do fall into that category.  Generally, regardless of the rest of the users, it's more likely that you need to be 10,000+ steps before you hit the active level.  However, I personally believe that doing weights (especially heavy weights) has lots ot benefits as well.  Since getting a new scale that tracks bodyfat I've managed to drop fat mass while building lean mass.

I'm not sure what Fitbit uses, but the calculator I mentioned uses the following definitions:

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

[Colinm39]

@A_Lurker An excellent post..  Fitbit uses the same formulae in the MFP Calculator and was confirmed to me by the moderators.  here is the link..

I also use these factors on a daily basis to see if I'm hitting my goals of at least 1.60 factor  ie Total Calories//BMR = 2863/1575 = 1.81..... It was a vigorous Spring garden day, chopping, pulling, cutting, digging etc and my Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) was 4-5 50%-60%.. and pleasantly tired at night.

All of the quoted articles below also fall in line with your post.. Great work..

1. Effort Factors

Sedentary.  Little to no regular exercise. (factor 1.2)

Mild activity level: Intensive exercise for at least 20 minutes 1 to 3 times per week. This may include such things as bicycling, jogging, basketball, swimming, skating, etc.  If you do not exercise regularly, but you maintain a busy life style that requires you to walk frequently for long periods, you meet the requirements of this level.  (factor 1.375)

Moderate activity level: Intensive exercise for at least 30 to 60 minutes 3 to 4 times per week. Any of the activities listed above will qualify.    (factor 1.55)

Heavy or (Labor-intensive) activity level: Intensive exercise for 60 minutes or greater 5 to 7 days per week (see sample activities above).  Labor-intensive occupations also qualify for this level.  Labor-intensive occupations include construction work (brick laying, carpentry, general labor, etc.). Also farming, landscape worker or similar occupations.     (factor 1.7)

Extreme level: Exceedingly active and/or very demanding activities:  Examples include:  (1) athlete with an almost unstoppable training schedule with multiple training sessions throughout the day  (2) very demanding job, such as shoveling coal or working long hours on an assembly line. Generally, this level of activity is very difficult to achieve.  (factor 1.9)

2. How to Calculate Your Rate of Perceived Exertion

For the RealJock.com Strength Foundation 12-Week Workout program, you will work at 60 percent or more of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is generally loosely calculated as the number 220 minus your age (for example, if you are 50 years old, your max heart rate would be 170); you can also have an evaluation by a physician to determine your max more accurately.

To measure your heart rate, you can buy a heart rate monitor and use a chart like the one at the American Heart Association to keep track of it. However, by using a monitor and chart to track your heart rate, you are relying on potentially arbitrary numbers, which are immune to changes in your fitness level.

Instead, Wicks recommends you use your Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE). Your RPE will be how hard, on a scale of 1 to 10, you perceive yourself to be working. As you get fitter, a higher heart rate will feel easier, but if you are relying on your RPE, you will continue to push yourself up to your new, higher target range. “Basing a workout on your RPE means you’re basing it, not on arbitrary values that are given to you, but on what you are putting into it,” says Wicks. It’s a method that adapts with you.

To measure your RPE, concentrate on how much talking you could do at your current rate of exertion. Below, a handy table to guide you:

MEASURING YOUR RATE OF PERCEIVED EXERTION
Talk Test                                                                                                      RPE Scale     Heart Rate (% Max)
The weather, politics, books; you could talk about anything, with ease.                 2 - 3     40 - 50%
Breathing slightly labored; you can still talk, but you have to focus.                        4 - 5     50 - 60%
Breathing challenging, but doable. Talking is more effort, and you’d just as soon not. 6 - 7     60 - 75%
Breathing hard; conversation nearly impossible.                                                           8 - 9       75 - 90%
Can’t talk without gasping for air. You can’t sustain this level of intensity for more than a few seconds—nor should you.                                                                                                                   10 -       90%                                                                                                                      

---

@A_Lurker wrote:

@willpl03 - the BMR calculator that I use calls Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk).  So if you're doing 2 training sessions a week and 6500-7000 steps daily then you probably do fall into that category.  Generally, regardless of the rest of the users, it's more likely that you need to be 10,000+ steps before you hit the active level.  However, I personally believe that doing weights (especially heavy weights) has lots ot benefits as well.  Since getting a new scale that tracks bodyfat I've managed to drop fat mass while building lean mass.

I'm not sure what Fitbit uses, but the calculator I mentioned uses the following definitions:

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

---