Calorie count on Apple Watch seems off

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Level 1

14 points

Calorie count on Apple Watch seems off

Does anyone else seem to have a very low calorie count with their Apple Watch? I am using a fitbit along side my Watch and there is a huge disparity between the two. For instance, yesterday I walked between 14,000 and 16,000 steps (depending on the wearable). My calorie count for the fitbit says I burned 4,245. The Apple Watch says I only burned 589.

I understand that these numbers are estimations, but this is a huge difference.

I also understand that the Watch has to calibrate in order to be more accurate, but I have owned it over 2 weeks now.

Anyone else experiencing this? What solutions can you recommend?

Thanks for your time.

Apple Watch, iOS 8.4

Posted on Aug 30, 2015 1:02 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Ddcasi Author

Level 1

14 points

Sep 6, 2015 2:37 PM in response to John Galt

Hi John,

Thanks for the constructive feedback.

Through further investigation and just playing around with my Apple Watch and apps on the phone, I realized that the watch is actually counting burned calories fairly similarly to the fitbit I've been using. Although probably more accurate (I would have no clue) the Apple Watch shows that only a couple to a few hundred calories difference from the fitbit.

This makes me feel a little better because for a second there, I thought I was seriously in danger of being completely low on the activity scale for a normal human.

Here's what I found looking at the Activity App for the watch on my iPhone. Notice I was setting my Move goal way to high based off of what I was used to seeing on fitbit. However, the Move bar does not count "resting calories". I didn't do much "resting" on this day, but you can see with "resting calories" I did burn over 3000 calories for the day.

Thanks again

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Answer 2

Brinad56

Level 1

8 points

Jan 2, 2018 4:36 PM in response to Ddcasi

Yes my Fitbit shows I burned 1271 calories compared to my Apple with only 311 burned. This is why I have trust issues. I have tried to sync it but with no luck. I’m about ready to give my Apple away and upgrade my fitbit

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Answer 3

yrubio

Level 1

9 points

Jan 25, 2018 6:36 PM in response to Ddcasi

To fix this, go to the health app, open Active Energy.... go down to where it says “Unit” and change it to “kJ” in other words kilojoules.... do the same for resting energy!

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Answer 4

John Galt

Level 10

140,994 points

Aug 30, 2015 5:01 PM in response to Ddcasi

Here is a typical walk I recorded this afternoon (I usually ride a bike though):

Calories burned on a walk can vary greatly depending on your physical condition (age, height, weight), the degree of exertion expended and many other factors, but for a very approximate estimate use 100 calories per mile walked. That would be for a 170 lb person over level terrain. If you're lighter than that, it's less.

Your stride can vary a great deal also, but one mile is about 2000 steps. Shorter people would need to take more steps to walk one mile than taller people.

Given the above estimates you walked about 7.5 miles. That's about 750 calories.

If you walk really fast (more than about 5 mph) you might burn another 30% more calories. That would be a total of 975 calories.

(References http://walking.about.com/library/weekly/aa033097.htm)

I understand that these numbers are estimations, but this is a huge difference. ...

Yes there is. There is no conceivable way you or any able-bodied person could possibly burn 4,245 calories walking only a few miles over approximately level terrain.

What solutions can you recommend?

Get rid of your FitBit. It has been giving you horribly inaccurate results.

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Answer 5

Sep 7, 2015 5:31 PM in response to Ddcasi

Something else to keep in mind; the Fitbit calculates exertion based on steps, speed and weight. The Apple Watch uses heart rate relative to your resting heart rate to measure level of exertion. This is an overall more accurate measurement method.

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Answer 6

Nov 10, 2015 7:07 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

HI lawrence.

I Have a polar strap and a brand new proform 4600 treadmill. Everything I have used so far, including my schoche wristband give me a calorie reading of 50% more than my Apple Watch.

also since OS 2 I burn much less calories per day.

Most of my workouts are inside. I know I burn 700 calories spinning. My Apple Watch will report 150 cals. Very disappointing.

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Answer 7

Mr stupid

Level 2

183 points

Jan 2, 2018 9:40 PM in response to Brinad56

Is this a problem of units? Multiply caloriels by 4 to get joules. My friend has his Apple watch set to joules. 4 x 311 = 1244 ! Is your Fitbit set to Joules ?

My target is 600 cals each and every day, about 5 miles fast walk.

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Answer 8

John Galt

Level 10

140,994 points

Sep 7, 2015 12:13 PM in response to Ddcasi

Thanks for the update. Your results are more or less consistent with my observations. "Resting calories" are a fairly significant part of the total daily burn.

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