Ernesto Ramirez

January 23, 2015

As part of our new Access channel we’re going to highlight interesting stories, ideas, and research related to self-tracking data and data access issues and the role they take in personal and public health. We recently found this expert report, published in the International Journal of Obesity, that tackles issues with the data researchers rely on for understanding diet and physical activity behaviors, and ultimately concludes that the data is fundamentally flawed.

Researchers has known for a long time that relying on individuals to understand, recall, and accurately report what they eat and how much they exercise isn’t the best way to understand the realities of everyday life. Unfortunately for many years, this was the only way to track this information – interviews, surveys, and research measures. Only recently have tools, devices, and methods matured to a point where objective information can be captured and analyzed.

The authors of this article make the case that obesity and weight management fundamentally relies on getting these numbers right, and unfortunately most research hasn’t. Reading the background on self-report data and the call to action the authors make for developing and using more objective measures we can’t help but wonder about the role of commercial personal self-tracking tools. How can we, as a community of users, toolmakers, and researchers work together to open up access pathways so that the millions of people tacking pictures of their meals and uploading their step data can have a positive impact on personal and public health? This is an open question, one that we’re excited to be working on.

If you’re interested in these type of questions, or working on projects related to data access we invite you to get in touch and keep following along here with us.