Research suggests a number-crunching
approach to well-being actively undermines
the formation of sustainable, healthy habits.

Amanda Paluch, a physical activity epidemiologist and
kinesiologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who
studies the health benefits of fitness-tracking technology, said
that for “moderately active” individuals like me, apps and
wearables can be “a great tool.” Quantifying our movement
makes it easier to incrementally ramp up daily exercise
incentives, which helps prevent injury and generally makes
being more active more achievable. Many fitness-tracking
products also incorporate social-sharing features, which can
give us a better perspective on how our exercise habits stack up
against our friends’, providing a little healthy competition as
motivation.