How COROS GPS watches measure active calories

Introduction

You give us feedback that the active calories measured on the COROS GPS watch is an important figure for many. What exactly does this number represent? It is an estimate of calories burned during recorded workouts, and the watch also detects activity in everyday life when it records a cadence of more than 130 steps per minute, which is most common during fast walking.

Details

Many of you have also given us feedback that the active calorie readings seem lower than you are used to. Especially if you have used a similar wearable device in the past. The reason for these differences is that COROS does not include the calories necessary for the body to function at rest/basal metabolic rate (Resting Metabolic or Basal Metabolic Rate). This is the amount of energy (calories) that is necessary to maintain basic human functions such as breathing, digestion, maintaining body temperature, and more. This value is different for each individual and is affected by factors such as genetics, height, weight, gender, and other factors.

Active calories for strength training recorded on your COROS GPS watch are calculated using unique algorithms developed for each workout based on the training mode, exercise selected, training load, and heart rate for the specific body part being trained. If the active calorie measurement appears to be incorrect, check your profile settings in your COROS account (in the COROS app) and make sure your weight, height, and gender are entered correctly, as these factors play a significant role in the calculation. For all activities outside of strength training, the primary factor in calculating active calories is your heart rate measurement.

Active calorie measurement limits

COROS warns that active calories measured by the COROS GPS watch do not measure basal metabolic rate. And even if the watch does not register more than 130 continuous steps per minute during the day, the measured active calories will be zero.

Calorie counting from the wrist, regardless of the device, has its limitations. To improve the accuracy of your active calorie count, it is important that your COROS GPS watch is able to obtain accurate heart rate data. For the most accurate heart rate data, it is important to keep the sensors on your watch clean, wear the watch above your wrist bone, and snug enough against your wrist so that it does not slip around your hand. Keeping the heart rate sensor as close to your skin as possible prevents external light from affecting the sensor readings in a way that leads to inaccuracy.

While COROS recognizes that counting calories burned can be incredibly valuable to many users in achieving their goals, it cautions that this calculation is informative and not completely accurate. To illustrate, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows a 20% variance on food nutrition labels. For example, a 1,000 calorie food label could actually be anywhere between 800 and 1,200 calories.

Conclusion

Measuring active calories provides a very helpful estimate - especially for changes over a longer period of time and puts an effective tool in the hands of users for tracking and adjusting a healthy lifestyle.