Influence of Skin Tone on Heart Rate from Wrist- and Chest-Worn Fitness Trackers
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
4-2025
Abstract
As activity monitor use is becoming more commonplace among individuals of various skin tones, the need to determine agreement between wrist- and chest- worn heart rate devices in those with lighter and darker skin tones needs to be further evaluated. Fifteen participants had skin tone measured with survey and spectrophotometry, and engaged in five different 5-min bouts of exercise. There were no significant differences in HRs at rest (p=0.309), jogging (p=0.751), biking (p=0.839), circuit (p=0.059), and arm crank (p=0.649). There was a significant difference in HRs while walking (p=0.015), with right wrist (121.7±10.6 b/min) significantly higher than chest (107.8±18.9 b/min). There were no significant correlations between melanin and percent error for the right/left wrist HRs (p>.05), or for upper arm melanin and right/left wrist HRs (p>.05). This study was in agreement with Koerber et al. (2022), where four studies noted no effect of user skin tone on accuracy.
Recommended Citation
Robinson, Kayla, "Influence of Skin Tone on Heart Rate from Wrist- and Chest-Worn Fitness Trackers" (2025). Student Research Symposium 2025. 43.
https://digitalcommons.tamusa.edu/srs_2025/43
Comments
Poster Session 1
3:30-5:00 p.m.
BLH Lobby