• 01 Jul, 2024
• Suman Dhar

Data Dilemma: Can Fitness Trackers REALLY Personalize Your Workout… Without Snooping on You?

Data Privacy: The Elephant in The Room

There is a growing concern about privacy these days. Public psyche is concerned about government access to personal information and corporate reach getting too far. Because they have our intimate information. A recent study showed that most Americans (78%) want control over their data but feel powerless (61%) to achieve it.

To steer this challenge, Harvard Business Review recommended three key things for the companies dealing with fitness tech:

Personalized Fitness: Promise of a Personalized Journey… But What Does “Personalized” Mean?

Apart form the data privacy issue, there is another growing concern. And it is because of a booming feature in the fitness world: the promise of a personalized fitness regime.

Just imagine this: after collecting extensive data about your personal life-choices, ‘smart’ the app or the ‘artificial intelligence algorithm’ would suggest a workout plan which is built just for you. Not only that, but it will also be catering to your current abilities and unique goals for future.

Sounds great, right? But there’s a catch: what is the exact meaning of “personalized”?

Researchers are grappling with this very question for quite a long time. Specially in the age of catered customization. Because the problem lies in the core: different people define “personalized” differently. Thus, it is becoming very hard to track the impact of these “personalized” programs.

So, no good news? Thankfully, there is. A study in Sports Medicine offers a middle ground solution: we should have a science-based approach. Meaning we can use data and conduct research to develop training programs. By this we can surpass inconsistencies of defining the term. The result will be the embodiment of an efficient as well as effective personalized plans in its truest sense.

Finding Balance: Where Privacy Meets Personalization

There is an interesting caveat to the discussion so far. The more we want to make the fitness regime personal, so does the collected data also become intimately personal. Such data often includes sensitive health information. And it is very easy to understand that such confidential data needs top-notch protection.

A bottom line can be drawn: data ethics are fundamental here. Fitness tech Companies must be responsible stewards of the information collected from its users.

Moreover, several researchers are working to find out how individuals respond to various training programs. This is important, because we need to keep testing and refining various forms of “personalized plans”. The reason is that we want to ensure whether they deliver the results we expect or not. If a program isn’t working, it’s time to go back to the old school (e.g. drawing board).

What’s Next…And Not As Far in The Horizon

To deal with the intersection of data privacy and personalized fitness is not a simple linear process, but a very dynamic one. Because technology is constantly evolving.

So, as we move forward, the focus should be on building trust. We can ensure that by always protecting our information while using data for valuable insights. Fundamentally, this would create a perfect environment where personalized fitness would truly flourish.

Source:

Atske, S., & Atske, S. (2024, May 8). 1. Views of data privacy risks, personal data and digital privacy laws. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/10/18/views-of-data-privacy-risks-personal-data-and-digital-privacy-laws/

Bernacki, M. L., Greene, M. J., & Lobczowski, N. G. (2021). A Systematic Review of Research on Personalized Learning: Personalized by Whom, to What, How, and for What Purpose(s)? Educational Psychology Review, 33(4), 1675–1715. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09615-8

Dhirani, L. L., Mukhtiar, N., Chowdhry, B. S., & Newe, T. (2023). Ethical Dilemmas and Privacy Issues in Emerging Technologies: A Review. Sensors, 23(3), 1151. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23031151

Fletcher, C. (2022, February 26). Why the ethical use of data and user privacy concerns matter. VentureBeat. https://venturebeat.com/datadecisionmakers/why-the-ethical-use-of-data-and-user-privacy-concerns-matter/

Kljajević, V., Stanković, M., Đorđević, D., Trkulja-Petković, D., Jovanović, R., Plazibat, K., Oršolić, M., Čurić, M., & Sporiš, G. (2021). Physical Activity and Physical Fitness among University Students—A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(1), 158. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010158

Lee, L. (2022, October 31). Why Privacy at the Edge Is a Growing Concern for Customers. Acceleration Economy. https://accelerationeconomy.com/edge-computing/why-privacy-at-the-edge-is-a-growing-concern-for-customers/

Rahnama, H. (2022, February 25). The new rules of data privacy. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/02/the-new-rules-of-data-privacy

Redondo-Flórez, L., Ramos-Campo, D. J., & Clemente-Suárez, V. J. (2022). Relationship between Physical Fitness and Academic Performance in University Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(22), 14750. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192214750

Wackerhage, H., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2021). Personalized, Evidence-Informed training plans and exercise prescriptions for performance, fitness and health. Sports Medicine, 51(9), 1805–1813. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01495-w