We were out on the golf course recently when my tech-friendly golf buddy pointed out that his smartwatch not only tracked how many yards there were to the centre of the green, but also his blood pressure, number of steps taken in the match, blood oxygen levels and more.

His wife, he added, wore a special ring that gave similar helpful health data. Another friend of our monitors her blood glucose levels not by getting a regular blood test, but via a wearable device hooked up to her smart phone.

Save with SPP decided to take a closer look at the wearable fitness tech boom, to find out what else has appeared on the market.

NBC News begins their review by noting that “whether you are training for a marathon or working out for the first time in months, a fitness tracker can show you health and exercise data that can help you better understand your efforts. Most have heart rate, GPS and activity tracking built-in, and many can provide insights into your sleep and recovery.”

The trackers, the article continues, come in the form of watches, bands and rings. If you are looking to buy one, the article notes, comfort is critical.

The article quotes Dr. Koyya Lewis-Trammell of California State Polytechnic University as saying “a fitness tracker is only useful if you wear it. It can have the most advanced tools on the market, but those features are meaningless if you don’t wear it regularly.”

It’s also important that the wearable tracker be compatible with your mobile phone, the article notes, and that it yields useable data on categories such as “steps and heart rate… (and) analysis of your workouts and efforts.”

The top pick was a Fitbit Charge 6, which the reviewers found to be “lightweight and easy to use… (it’s) a small, beginner-friendly fitness app that’s light on weight and light on price.”

A review on MSN found the Oura Ring 4 to be “the best smart ring for most people, thanks to its long battery life, highly accurate tracking, and intuitive and easy-to-understand app for reporting your health data.”

“I aim to hit 10,000+ steps a day, like to know the cumulative load from my daily workouts, and prefer to have a read on how recovered or taxed my body is from stress, travel, fluctuating sleep quality, and activity,” writes MSN’s Rachael Schultz.

The devices are growing in popularity here in Canada.

According to The Health Insider, a study authored by Guy Paré of HEC Montreal found 66 per cent of respondents “kept track of something related to their health, with most of them using some kind of device to aid them in doing so.”

The article discusses some Canadian health and fitness trackers from companies such as HeartWatch, Muse, Hexoskin and iMerciv.

Save with SPP has not tried, and is not endorsing, any of these products. If you do become interested in purchasing one, it is important to do your research on fit, ease of use, phone compatibility, and so on, and perhaps chat with a professional – like your doctor – about what he or she can do with the resulting data.

It’s nice to have a professional doing the heavy lifting and decision making, and that’s what members of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan experience. Money they contribute to their retirement nest egg is carefully and professionally invested in SPP’s low-cost pooled fund.

Years from now when the days of work are mercifully over, SPP members can choose to convert their savings to income through such options as receiving a monthly lifetime annuity payment, or the more flexible Variable Benefit.

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