Fitness

New method can measure overall fitness accurately on wearable devices

Published

2 years ago

December 5, 2022

New method can measure overall fitness accurately on wearable devices

Cambridge researchers have developed a technique for measuring total health precisely on wearable units – and extra robustly than present shopper smartwatches and health displays – with out the wearer needing to train.

Usually, checks to precisely measure VO2max – a key measurement of total health and an essential predictor of coronary heart illness and mortality danger – require costly laboratory gear and are principally restricted to elite athletes. The brand new technique makes use of machine studying to foretell VO2max – the capability of the physique to hold out cardio work – throughout on a regular basis exercise, with out the necessity for contextual info corresponding to GPS measurements.

In what’s by far the most important research of its form, the researchers gathered exercise knowledge from greater than 11,000 contributors within the Fenland Examine utilizing wearable sensors, with a subset of contributors examined once more seven years later. The researchers used the information to develop a mannequin to foretell VO2max, which was then validated towards a 3rd group who carried out a normal lab-based train take a look at. The mannequin confirmed a excessive diploma of accuracy in comparison with lab-based checks, and outperforms different approaches.

Some smartwatches and health displays presently available on the market declare to offer an estimate of VO2max, however for the reason that algorithms powering these predictions aren’t printed and are topic to vary at any time, it is unclear whether or not the predictions are correct, or whether or not an train regime is having any impact on a person’s VO2max over time.

The Cambridge-developed mannequin is powerful, clear and offers correct predictions primarily based on coronary heart fee and accelerometer knowledge solely. Because the mannequin can even detect health adjustments over time, it is also helpful in estimating health ranges for complete populations and figuring out the results of life-style traits. The outcomes are reported within the journal npj Digital Drugs.

A measurement of VO2max is taken into account the ‘gold normal’ of health checks. Skilled athletes, for instance, take a look at their VO2max by measuring their oxygen consumption whereas they train to the purpose of exhaustion. There are different methods of measuring health within the laboratory, like coronary heart fee response to train checks, however these require gear like a treadmill or train bike. Moreover, strenuous train could be a danger to some people.

VO2max is not the one measurement of health, but it surely’s an essential one for endurance, and is a robust predictor of diabetes, coronary heart illness, and different mortality dangers. Nonetheless, since most VO2max checks are finished on people who find themselves moderately match, it is onerous to get measurements from those that should not as match and may be susceptible to heart problems.”

Dr Soren Brage, Co-Writer, Cambridge’s MRC Epidemiology Unit

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“We wished to know whether or not it was potential to precisely predict VO2max utilizing knowledge from a wearable system, in order that there could be no want for an train take a look at,” stated co-lead creator Dr Dimitris Spathis from Cambridge’s Division of Pc Science and Know-how. “Our central query was whether or not wearable units can measure health within the wild. Most wearables present metrics like coronary heart fee, steps or sleeping time, that are proxies for well being, however aren’t immediately linked to well being outcomes.”

The research was a collaboration between the 2 departments: the crew from the MRC Epidemiology Unit offered experience in inhabitants well being and cardiorespiratory health and knowledge from the Fenland Examine – a long-running public well being research within the East of England – whereas the crew from the Division of Pc Science and Know-how offered experience in machine studying and synthetic intelligence for cellular and wearable knowledge.

Contributors within the research wore wearable units repeatedly for six days. The sensors gathered 60 values per second, leading to an unlimited quantity of knowledge earlier than processing. “We needed to design an algorithm pipeline and applicable fashions that would compress this large quantity of knowledge and use it to make an correct prediction,” stated Spathis. “The free-living nature of the information makes this prediction difficult as a result of we’re making an attempt to foretell a high-level end result (health) with noisy low-level knowledge (wearable sensors).”

The researchers used an AI mannequin often known as a deep neural community to course of and extract significant info from the uncooked sensor knowledge and make predictions of VO2max from it. Past predictions, the skilled fashions can be utilized for the identification of sub-populations specifically want of intervention associated to health.

The baseline knowledge from 11,059 contributors within the Fenland Examine was in contrast with follow-up knowledge from seven years later, taken from a subset of two,675 of the unique contributors. A 3rd group of 181 contributors from the UK Biobank Validation Examine underwent lab-based VO2max testing to validate the accuracy of the algorithm. The machine studying mannequin had sturdy settlement with the measured VO2max scores at each baseline (82% settlement) and follow-up testing (72% settlement).

“This research is an ideal demonstration of how we are able to leverage experience throughout epidemiology, public well being, machine studying and sign processing,” stated co-lead creator Dr Ignacio Perez-Pozuelo.

The researchers say that their outcomes reveal how wearables can precisely measure health, however transparency must be improved if measurements from commercially accessible wearables are to be trusted.

“It is true in precept that many health displays and smartwatches present a measurement of VO2max, but it surely’s very troublesome to evaluate the validity of these claims,” stated Brage. “The fashions aren’t normally printed, and the algorithms can change frequently, making it troublesome for folks to find out if their health has really improved or if it is simply being estimated by a unique algorithm.”

“All the things in your smartwatch associated to well being and health is an estimate,” stated Spathis. “We’re clear about our modeling and we did it at scale. We present that we are able to obtain higher outcomes with the mix of noisy knowledge and conventional biomarkers. Additionally, all our algorithms and fashions are open-sourced and everybody can use them.”

“We have proven that you do not want an costly take a look at in a lab to get an actual measurement of health – the wearables we use on daily basis might be simply as highly effective, if they’ve the fitting algorithm behind them,” stated senior creator Professor Cecilia Mascolo from the Division of Pc Science and Know-how. “Cardio-fitness is such an essential well being marker, however till now we didn’t have the means to measure it at scale. These findings may have vital implications for inhabitants well being insurance policies, so we are able to transfer past weaker well being proxies such because the Physique Mass Index (BMI).”

The analysis was supported partly by Jesus Faculty, Cambridge and the Engineering and Bodily Sciences Analysis Council (EPSRC), a part of UK Analysis and Innovation (UKRI). Cecilia Mascolo is a Fellow of Jesus Faculty, Cambridge.

Source:

Journal reference:

Spathis, D., et al. (2022) Longitudinal cardio-respiratory health prediction by means of wearables in free-living environments. npj Digital Drugs. doi.org/10.1038/s41746-022-00719-1.

Related Topics:Epidemiology Exercise Exercise Test Heart heart disease heart rate laboratory machine learning medicine mortality public health research

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Fitness

RFK Is a Big Proponent of Exercise as Medicine. We Agree.

Published

3 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

RFK Is a Big Proponent of Exercise as Medicine. We Agree.

IT’S GREAT TO see Robert F. Kennedy Jr elevating exercise in the national conversation, and at Men’s Health we’ve been saying exercise is strong medicine for 35 years—because nothing advances health and can’t be patented by Pharma as much as consistently working out.

We’ve been reporting on the styles of strength and fitness that you need to optimize your health for years—and the pandemic, which saw those who struggled with fitness suffer more than strong, healthy people, put a spotlight on that. Since then, gym memberships are booming; 2023 saw with 72.9 million people with gym memberships.

These days, healthspan (the portion of life during which you’re able to do what you want instead of being frail and weak) is a buzzword, as we’ve covered in our stories with Peter Attia, M.D., author of Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity. According to Attia: “Exercise is by far the most potent longevity ‘drug.’ The data are unambiguous: Exercise not only delays actual death but also prevents both cognitive and physical decline better than any other intervention. It is the single most potent tool we have in the health-span-enhancing toolkit—and that includes nutrition, sleep, and meds.”

Over the years MH has covered the ideal amount of exercise people should do, and, like Dr. Attia, MH recommend more exercise weekly—ideally 7 to 10 hours— than the government’s regulations. Currently, the CDC says:

Adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week. There are multiple ways to break this up, but an easy way to think about it is that you should fitness 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

Adults also need 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity each week.
The CDC does also note that you’ll gain even more health benefits if you go beyond 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or week – or if you have 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity (think: a pickup hoops game).

The latest research reveals that you need a combination of different intensities of cardio, as well as consistent strength training and stability exercises to be your best self. Here’s how much you should get to be at your best.

Your Cardio Goals

4+ Hours/Week

Dr. Attia says your VO2 max is a good proxy measure of physical capability: It indicates what you can—and cannot—do. Studies suggest that VO2 max will decline by roughly 10 percent per decade after your 20s and up to 15 percent per decade after age 50. Increasing your VO2 max makes you functionally younger. So having average or even above-average VO2 max has long-term ramifications. Dr. Attia’s goal for his patients is to be at an excellent level for the decade (or two) below their age. Many smartwatches can estimate VO2 max, but a real test (e.g., the Cooper 12-Minute Run) is better and VO2-max charts are easy to find online.

The good news?

You can improve VO2 max by as much as 17 percent per year. But you need to put in the work. Dr. Attia advises that patients do at least three 45 to 60-minute cardio sessions per week in zone 2 of their heart rate (57 to 65 percent of max heart rate, a gentle intensity during which you can say a complete sentence). They can involve running, cycling, rowing, even rucking. This is optimal for the health and efficiency of your mitochondria, the factories that burn fat and glucose to power your muscles and that decline as you age.

Along with cruising in zone 2, Dr. Attia recommends that patients do a weekly 30-minute VO2-max effort, such as high-intensity intervals that last anywhere from 3 to 8 minutes. For instance, you can run, ride, row, or ruck uphill for four rounds of four minutes, with four minutes of rest in between. “This is a much higher level of intensity—a hard, minutes-long effort,” he says. By testing your VO2 max and committing to cardio, you can nudge up your score and win in the long run.

Your Strength Goals

3+ Hours/Week

Age-related muscle loss—which starts insidiously in your 40s and picks up the pace in your 50s—is called sarcopenia, from the Greek words for “poverty of the flesh,” says Dr. Attia. Think of strength training as a form of retirement saving, he says. Just as you retire with enough money saved up to sustain you for the rest of your life, you want to reach an older age with enough of a “reserve” of muscle to protect you from injury and allow you to continue to pursue the activities that you enjoy. That muscle also acts as a buffer against the natural age-related decline in muscle mass. The larger the reserve you build up early on, the better off you will be over the long term. And, there are many categories to train:

Grip Strength

New research reveals that American adults have far weaker grip strength—and thus less muscle mass—than they did even a generation ago. In 1985, men ages 20 to 24 had an average right-handed grip strength of 121 pounds, while in 2015, men of the same age averaged just 101 pounds. Dr. Attia notes that many studies suggest that grip strength predicts how long you are likely to live. In these studies, it’s acting as a proxy for overall strength, but it’s also a broader indicator of general robustness and your ability to protect yourself if you slip.

Try These: Weighted carries, dead hangs, and plate pinches. Your goal: Do a farmer’s carry with a quarter of your bodyweight in each hand for one minute.

Concentric and Eccentric Loading

You need strength when your muscles are shortening (concentric) and lengthening (eccentric) under load. In other words, you must be able to lift the weight up and put it back down, slowly and with control. In life, especially as you age, eccentric strength is where many people falter.

Eccentric strength in the quads is what gives us the brakes required when we are moving down an incline or walking down a set of stairs. It’s really important to keep us safe from falling.

Try These: Focus on the “down” phase of lifts, whether doing pullups, curls, or deadlifts. Practice slow stepdowns—can you step off an 18-inch box in three seconds or more?

Pulling Motions

Pulling motions help bulletproof your shoulders against injury, and they’re critical in other underrated ways, too, driving your motion when you open car doors, lift boxes from the floor, and give somebody a hug.

Try These: Practice pulling at all angles. Start with dumbbell rows and progress to overhead moves like pullups.

Hip Hinges

You bend at the hips—not the spine—to harness your body’s largest muscles, the glutei maximi and the hamstrings. It is a very powerful move that is essential to life. If you are jumping, picking up a penny off the sidewalk, or simply getting out of a chair, you are hip hinging.

Try These: Deadlifts, hip thrusts, and kettlebell swings.

With all this exercise, your body may need more TLC. And that’s where stability and mobility training and low impact things like yoga and walking come in. These kinds of activities help your body recover and you can target weak areas to build your overall strength.

If you need somewhere to start and aren’t sure how to get going: Try this simple bodyweight workout: Set a timer for 10 minutes. Start by doing 30 seconds plank walkout, then do 30 seconds of alternating reverse lunges, then do 30 seconds of jumping jacks. Rest 30 seconds, then repeat until time is up. This simple session fires up your core and burns calories, and it gets you moving in multiple planes, an underrated quality you want to preserve for longevity. It also challenges many of the key functions we’ve already listed above. A bonus: As you gain fitness, this can become a warmup drill for any workout you do.

If you’re looking for exercise guidance, check out our Men’s Health MVP Training Lab, which is full of month-long workouts that can help you improve your VO2 max, build total-body muscle and strength, shed excess pounds, and get into optimal shape.

Fitness

A new way to exercise is now open at the Smith River Sports Complex

Published

11 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

A new way to exercise is now open at the Smith River Sports Complex

A new fitness court is now open for public use at the Smith River Sports Complex.

The fitness court, located at the Smith River Sports Complex, was completed in partnership with Aetna for its National Fitness Campaign across Virginia. It was created to cater to people ages 14 and older and with multiple levels of fitness in mind by allowing them to move at their own pace.

“We would like to thank Aetna for their support in bringing this important program to our community,” Henry County Director of Parks and Recreation Roger Adams said. “And for recognizing the need to support healthy lifestyles for all Virginians.”

The Smith River Sports Complex Fitness Court is one of the first communities in Virginia selected for the initiative, Adams said.

The fitness court base is a concrete pad with a connecting wall that features different equipment allowing users to work different muscles. The court is separated into seven different sections including: core, squat, push, pull, lunge, agility and bend.

Some of the different exercises possible on the fitness court include: mountain climbers, pushups, lunges at the lunge station, pullups, burpees and different core exercises.

“The fitness court is a wonderful example of partnerships across the public and private sectors to help break down barriers to accessible community programming,” Adams said. “Living a healthy lifestyle and taking preventative measures can help reduce the risk of developing chronic yet preventable diseases.”

“By practicing healthy habits through regular exercise on the fitness court with body weight training, individuals could significantly lower their risk of developing these diseases,” Adams said. “A body weight workout enhances coordination, balance and mobility in particular. We encourage everyone to walk, jog and cycle to our new fitness court and spend a little more time outside every day.”

“We know that when your physical health is better, your mental health is also better,” Henry County Board of Supervisors Iriswood District Representative Garrett Dillard said. “When you become a healthier community, that impacts your work, your school, your daily life.”

“We need to do better in Henry County,” Dillard said.

Henry County ranks 119 out of 133 counties in Virginia in terms of health outcomes, the county life expectancy is almost five years less than the state average, 42% of the population is considered obese and 26% of the county population reports having access to exercise opportunities, Dillard said.

“The key word there is opportunity,” he added. “Yes, we have a fair share of problems, but we also have an opportunity to solve them if we work together.”

“By partnering with Aetna, the National Fitness Campaign … the county is now able to offer free, accessible and high-quality fitness equipment for people of all ages and abilities,” Dillard said. “The fitness court is designed to bring the benefits of exercise to everyone, regardless of fitness level, and its right here in our community.”

Along with the fitness court, users can download the free Fitness Court App which provides a coach-in-your-pocket and enhances the outdoor gym with a digitally supported wellness experience.

The Martinsville-Henry County YMCA also plans to hold classes on the fitness court in the future.

“This is sure to be the first of many initiatives that will encourage healthy habits in our community,” Dillard said. “I encourage everyone to take full advantage of this incredible resource as we work together to improve the health and quality of life for everyone in our community.”

Fitness

AI-Driven Fitness Applications

Published

19 hours ago

November 20, 2024

Press Room

Ginkgo Health is preparing to launch its groundbreaking AI-driven fitness application — Ginkgo Active. Designed to deliver tailored exercise plans for managing and preventing chronic conditions, the app uses advanced algorithms to process extensive health data and create individualized prescriptions, targeting balance, strength, and cardiovascular fitness. Set to be available in December, Ginkgo Health’s tool bridges the gap between exercise research and practical implementation. This move addresses a critical need for accessible, preventive healthcare solutions.

By providing dynamic adjustments based on user feedback, Ginkgo Active offers flexibility to accommodate changing needs, such as limited equipment or fluctuating energy levels. Its commitment to personalization ensures each plan evolves with the user’s progress. The app’s gamified design further fosters engagement by turning habit formation into an enjoyable experience.

Image Credit: Ginkgo Health