title: Personal Activity Trackers and the Quantified Self.
abstract: Personal activity trackers are an inexpensive and easy way for people to record their physical activity and simple biometric data. As these devices have increased in availability and sophistication, their use in daily life and in medicine has grown. This column will briefly explore what these devices are, what types of data they can track, and how that data can be used. It will also discuss potential problems with trackers and how librarians can help patients and physicians manage and protect activity data. A brief list of currently available activity trackers is also included.
authors.affiliation: a Medical Library , Mayo Clinic Health System , Eau Claire , Wisconsin , USA.
authors.forename: Matthew B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Hoy
mesh_terms: D001699:Biometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015444:Exercise; D006801:Humans; D016245:Librarians; D024382:Professional Role
keywords: Activity trackers; FitBit; fitness trackers; life logging; quantified self