I read an article on NPR discussing the issue of self reported data when it comes to fitness and exercise. The author of the paper in question essentially came to the verdict that self reported data is such a poor measurement of actual energy intake and expenditure that it has "no place in scientific research".
Those be fighting words.
I tend to agree with him to some extent, in my own limited experience running this blog. Depending on the person submitting their data here, I've seen vastly different strategies of reporting, not to mention vastly different ideas of what is considered and not considered exercise. Some people like to report everything, while others like my brother Mike rarely reports in despite being very active. In terms of gleaning valuable population-based information . . . there is just too much to control for. The variance model will literally explode.
That being said, I also think that from a health standpoint, keeping track of your own activity, whatever you deem that to be is incredibly beneficial. You keep yourself honest when you have many blank days on the calendar. Regardless of what you choose to submit, as long as you remain consistent in how and what you choose to report, the information can be helpful.
What do you guys think? Is it risky to draw health-care related conclusions based on self-reported user data? As we move into a much more analytical society where everything is "captured", is it trustworthy enough to start making health care decisions on that data set?
It is an interesting question to say the least.
Data out is only as good as data in, and you cannot get consistent data in from self reporting. Simple as that. In my opinion, self reporting is only good for the individual. If they lie to themselves, then they’re only fooling themselves. Though some people do live in that kind of denial…
Specifically, for what you have here, my question is: how do you differentiate between someone who considers walking around a mall as exercise (because they specifically went out just to walk) against someone that works on their feet walking around all day (which don’t consider that exercise because it’s their day-to-day life) when they’ve likely logged similar number of steps through the day?
That is a great question and a good point. For this blog we kind of let people submit whatever they feel is appropriate, and that does vary quite a bit from person to person.
One of the design challenges that I’ve been struggling with is posting “head-to-head” features — like the AFP leaderboard because it does vary so widely. I’ve kind of discontinued challenges that try to play on the competitive player vs player model, and opted for more of a group challenge ideology . . . to various degrees of success.
For me personally, my recommendation is to think of the _intent_ behind your activity. If you are intending your activity to be for exercise as its primary objective (like running or walking on a treadmill) and it is above and beyond normal daily activities than I am more than happy. I typically think of it as something that requires some sweat drops to form and for at least a half an hour duration.
At the end of the day though you are right. Self reporting really is only good for the individual, and if people abuse or take advantage of the imperfect implementation, at the end of the day they are only gipping themselves and cheapening the experience