Improving Energy Expenditure Estimation in Wearables using a Heat Flux Sensor: First Observations

Wearable electronics are often used for estimating the energy expenditure of the user based on heart rate measurement. While heart rate is a good predictor of calorie consumption at high intensities, it is less precise at low intensity levels, which translates into inaccurate results when estimating daily net energy expenditure. In this study, heart rate measurement was augmented with heat flux measurement, a form of direct calorimetry. A physical exercise test on a group of 15 people showed that heat flux measurement can significantly improve the accuracy of calorie consumption estimates when used in conjunction with heart rate information and vital background parameters of the user.