Fitness Trackers Without Bluetooth: Is it important?

When you decide to get into shape, fitness trackers are a great tool that are easy to use. These watches allow you to track different activities throughout the day, like keeping a count of your steps, and they can even monitor your sleep so you can check your sleep quality.

To be able to measure  these features a gyroscope is used, which can sense when you move and it can also detect when you do physical activity like walking or running.
Some watches even feature Bluetooth connectivity to your mobile phone, so you can track your results.

While having Bluetooth connectivity on these wearable devices may sound like a good idea, it comes at a high price. What happens is that when the Bluetooth on these popular fitness trackers is turned on, they are  emitting electromagnetic frequencies (EMF). And if you’ve read any other posts on this site, you know how harmful EMF exposure can be. It affects fertility, promotes tumor growth, and leads to a number of other serious health issues.

Bluetooth and EMF

Bluetooth radiation exposure has not been studied as much as you would expect. From the few studies that have been done, however, the indications are that this health risk is something that should be taken seriously. For example, one study found that insects experienced cell death after just six minutes of weak exposure to radiation.

The government does regulate the Bluetooth level of radiation, and most electronic devices do emit less than the designated acceptable amount.

There are two problems with government standards on this, however.

1.The lack of research on Bluetooth — how can you set a safe level when it hasn’t been studied?

2.Cumulative Bluetooth radiation  — How much RF radiation are we exposed to from the sheer number of Bluetooth-enabled devices we are surrounded by every day.

Are there Fitness Trackers Without Bluetooth?

Some fitness trackers don’t use Bluetooth at all, and others come with the option to disable it. If you’re looking to limit the potential risks, consider one of these.

Garmin Vivosmart HR

An affordable activity tracker with the ability to monitor your heart rate, the Garmin Vivosmart HR is one of the few on the market that allows you to disconnect from Bluetooth. Features include a step tracker, calorie tracker, an altimeter that can monitor how many floors you’ve climbed, and vibration alerts to remind you to stay active.
The Bluetooth is simple to turn off on this device, as well. Simply engage the touch screen and press and hold to bring up the settings window. Scroll to Bluetooth settings, and select off. It’s worth noting that the Vivosmart does not have WiFi, which is great from an EMF standpoint. It also means that you will need to briefly enable Bluetooth once every day or so in order to allow your watch to sync with the Garmin app.

Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro

The Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro is a feature-rich watch. It’s water resistant up to 50 meters and comes with a heart rate monitor, step tracker, GPS tracking, and a long-lasting battery. And best of all, you can completely disable Bluetooth.
To do so, swipe left from the home screen over to the settings window. Under settings, scroll to Bluetooth and uncheck to disable. Just like the Garmin Vivosmart, you will need to enable Bluetooth (or WiFi) at least once a day to allow the Gear Fit2 Pro to sync.

Fitness watches help users get in shape and stay aware of their activity level. They’re a good idea in theory, but they do come with an inherent risk due to EMF. You can help minimize that risk by purchasing a watch that allows you to disable Bluetooth. Hopefully, as additional research is done on Bluetooth radiation, more watch manufacturers will recognize the need to allow users to disconnect from Bluetooth.