Several US researchers report that popular smartwatches overestimate how many calories people burn, in some cases by at least 110 calories. The findings are based on measurements comparing device-reported calorie burn with the study’s reference method.
Reporting from different outlets highlights that Apple, Samsung and Garmin devices are among those that overstate calorie expenditure. One source also specifies that Fitbit performs worst among the brands evaluated. The coverage does not dispute that smartwatches provide estimates, but it frames the results as a warning that calorie totals from these devices may be materially inaccurate for users.
Both reports refer to the same core conclusion: calorie-burn calculations from the watches tested are consistently higher than expected, with differences large enough to affect how users interpret activity and weight-management goals.
