How the women’s health wearables battle is heating up

Around one in seven British adults use a smart watch or fitness tracker, with women more likely than men to use a fitness device, according to research from Silicon. But why is it that such devices are more popular amongst women than men? And how are the world’s tech giants adapting to suit this shift? Femtech World reports.

A fitness tracker can compile a variety of data about the wearer’s activities, depending on the complexity of the device. Users can monitor this data with a corresponding app, where they can manually input additional information about themselves and their lifestyle.

As a result, the makers of fitness trackers amass a wealth of data that can be used in many ways. Current privacy policies for many fitness tracking apps allow users’ information to be shared with others. Some researchers are already using data from these apps for health research.

Users have access to fitness, tips and healthcare advice at their fingertips. Women are making the most of trackers – and now, the giants of the tech world are fighting to provide the most useful resources to draw them in.

Here, we investigate how firms are broadening their technology to increase their appeal…

Apple

With Cycle Tracking on Apple Watches with iOS 13 and watchOS 6 or later, women can easily track their menstrual cycle, so they can get a better picture of their health.

This can be done in the Health app on their iPhone or the Cycle Tracking app on an Apple Watch. Notifications can be enabled to tell the user when the next period or fertile window is approaching.

In addition to the information that’s been logged for previous periods and cycle length, Health can use heart rate data from the Apple Watch to improve cycle tracking predictions.

Using heart rate data from Apple Watch to improve predictions is turned on by default, but it can be turned off at any time.

Apple announced early results from its health study in March, which was conducted alongside the University of Michigan School of Public Health. The figures are collected from those who choose to participate via the Research app the company launched back in 2019. This all forms part of Apple’s attempts to take a more serious approach to user health, built, in part, on data collected through the iPhone.

Data was collected from 10,000 participants around the United States with a range of different ages and ethnic backgrounds. Apple and research partner Harvard looked to study the connection between menstrual cycles and a variety of different health conditions, including infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome and perimenopause.

Early results note that symptoms like nausea and sleep changes are common, along with more frequently discussed things like bloating and cramps. The study also shows that many of the tracked symptoms are common and consistent across age, race and location — even though they may not be spoken about. The company says the efforts are, in part, to de-stigmatise discussions around the above.

Fitbit

Like Apple, Fitbit provides menstrual health tracking which includes elements such as helping to predict periods, a user’s estimated fertile window, and more.

The female health tracking feature was added to the watch in May 2018 to allow women to collate data about periods and ovulation alongside the other metrics. According to Fitbit, it was one of the firm’s most requested features

Tracking the cycle can allow the user to gain a better understanding of what’s happening in her body, help them to recognise any recurring irregularities, and identify menstrual patterns linked to everyday activities like sleep and exercise.

The Fitbit app will help to learn about a typical period length, estimated fertile window and ovulation day, and other information related to the cycle. Continuing to log and verify periods will provide more accurate predictions and offer greater insight into menstrual patterns.

Fitbit uses the data provided to estimate predictions, which will take into account the average cycle and period lengths provided during setup, although the period will need to be logged consistently to receive more accurate predictions.

However, in 2018, BBC News reported that women who had signed up to Fitbit’s period tracker have complained that it only allowed them to log periods of 10 days or fewer.

Many women pointed out that they can last much longer, making the tracker on the wearable fitness device useless for many users.

Fitbit confirmed that “currently a period must be less than 11 days”, and that it had asked those concerned to comment and vote on its suggestions board.

Three years later, it is unconfirmed whether the issue had been resolved.

Samsung

In 2020, Samsung took the leap (much delayed behind every other company) and now offers the long-awaited feature: period tracking.

Samsung rolled out an update, version 6.9.0.055, which adds a new women’s health category and allows users to track their menstrual cycles.

The addition of period tracking is part of Samsung’s attempt to make Samsung Health more comprehensive, allowing it to do more than simply monitor activity.

In 2019, Samsung Health added Calm’s meditation, relaxation and sleep services, along with blood-pressure monitoring and stress detection, to its Galaxy Watch Active.

As discussed above, it shows that the companies are meeting with the demand for women’s fitness. Whether it’s trackers designed to fit bodies or tech built to address specific health issues that females face, more and more companies are creating wearables to keep healthy.

Not only are these developments important because they address the needs of the female generation, they make business sense. The rise of ‘femtech’, a term coined by Ida Tin, founder of period tracking app Clue, is big news. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16.2 per cent from 2021 to 2027, and FemTech Analytics reported that, while in 2013 the sector barely totalled US$100m annually, it’s now expected to exceed US$60 billion within the next decade.