The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is asking the public to share information about the fitness tracking devices being sold by companies such as Fitbit and Jawbone that allow people to track their physical activity.
In an advisory sent to HealthCare.gov customers last week, the department asked the public for the names of the companies selling these devices, which it said include Jawbone and Fitbit.
It also asked for details about how people can access the devices and the information they offer about their health.
The government said it is aware of reports of people using the Jawbone or Fitbit devices to track themselves and their exercise routines, and that the devices are designed to track distance and pace, not distance and heart rate.
Health and Human Service Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in the advisory that HealthCare is looking into how consumers can access and use the devices, but that it is unclear how consumers might access and manage them.
She said the government is working with companies to develop guidelines for how consumers should manage the devices.
The Health and Safety Service is also looking into a new category of health and wellness devices called fitness trackers that allow users to track steps, calories burned, and other metrics.
The devices are often sold under the name Fitbit or Jawbone, but some people refer to them as simply “fitness trackers.”
The advisory noted that Health and Medicare’s website is also asking users to fill out information about these devices and to provide a unique identifier to track them.
