Activity tracker uses heart rate to personalize amount of exercise needed
Vancouver-based Mio Global has teamed up with a research team from the Cardiac Exercise Research Group (CERG) to present the science behind its activity trackers at ESC Congress 2016.
Personal Activity Intelligence (PAI) is an innovative new metric introduced by Mio earlier this year. It calculates the amount of exercise that a person needs to reduce their risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Guidelines recommend adults do 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise weekly, or a combination of intensities to achieve the same energy expenditure. Instead of focusing on the one size fits all approach, Mio provides you with a personalised target score which reflects your body’s response to physical activity based on heart rate.
“The health benefits of regular exercise are well established, but individuals do not know how much they need to prevent cardiovascular disease and premature death,” said lead author Dr Javaid Nauman, a researcher in the Cardiac Exercise Research Group (CERG), Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway.
The algorithms used in the PAI app are highly scientific. They are based on the HUNT Study, one of the largest health studies ever conducted in history, in which more than 60,000 individuals were closely monitored over 20 years. The algorithm was derived based on questions posed to over 4,600 individuals in this study – relating to frequency, duration and intensity of exercise and its relation to heart rate.
“PAI is for everyone, young and old, fit and unfit, and it’s an easy-to-understand number. Regardless of the physical activity, every time you raise your heart rate, you contribute to your PAI score, which can be calculated with the PAI app,” added Naumann.
Users are told to aim for a PAI score of at least 100, which is calculated over a seven-day period. The quantity and intensity of activity required to achieve that goal is personalized based on a user’s profile, such as your age and gender. One individual’s path to fitness may be very different from another’s, which emphasizes the need for a personalized approach to monitoring health and fitness.
PAI makes tracking simple. Just keep your score above 100 to enjoy optimal health. All you need is a Mio wearable and the PAI app to get started. Mia says, keeping your PAI score above 100 will increase your lifespan by up to 10 years and provide maximum protection from lifestyle diseases.
