Carol McGiffin
THEWAY ISEEIT... Wisewords fromourfeisty, fearless andfunny columnist
‘A lmost everyone I know – at least those who are middle aged and female – owns a health watch. You know, a Fitbit, Apple Watch or similar. What’s more, they seem to think that they can’t live without them, and that I’m interested in hearing how many steps they’ve done. I mean, what do they do at night when they realise they’ve only done 9,042 steps? Jog by the bed for however many minutes 958 steps is?!
Of course, it’s great people are making efforts to look after themselves, but these watches could be doing more harm than good. For a start, it can’t be healthy to obsessively monitor things like heart rate and blood pressure, unless you actually have a serious condition and your doctor says you need to.
Some devices have been proven to be somewhat inaccurate and unreliable, which might mean a deviation in readings could cause unnecessary anxiety and stress – possibly the two worst things for our health.
They’re causing problems for GPs and the NHS, too. A new report from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges says ‘an inordinate number’ of ‘worried well’ people are visiting their GPs because the devices are telling them to, which could, the report says, overwhelm doctors.
I get the ‘worried well’ bit. I’m guilty of it myself. But I’ve a good reason to be on guard for health problems – having had breast cancer that could return at any time. I’m not objecting to anyone being cautious, but a bit of reason is required. No machine can tell you what’s wrong better than your body.
So stop watching the watch, and get on with living life!’