Impact of smartwatch data analytics on dietary consumption awareness among college students in Ar Rass, Al Qassim Region

Wearable technology, particularly smartwatches, has become widely adopted, opening up new possibilities for tracking behaviors related to health. These gadgets allow young adults to track their heart rate, calorie expenditure, and physical activity in real time, which may raise their awareness of their food intake and encourage them to adopt better lifestyles. Despite its increasing popularity, little is known about how smartwatch analytics affect students’ dietary awareness and habits. The study aimed to evaluate the disparity in knowledge among a group of health-conscious college students who use smartwatch technology and those who rely on traditional methods when it comes to nutrition practices, dietary choices, accountability behaviors, and food-intake awareness. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 488 college students in Ar Rass, Al Qassim Region, using stratified convenience sampling. Data was gathered through questionnaires on dietary habits and smartwatch usage, and the Chi-square/Fisher Exact test was used to find the significance of study parameters on categorical scale between two or more groups. Significant gender differences were observed in BMI, field of study, and smartwatch usage, with males showing higher BMI and females with lower BMI. Smartwatch users showed greater awareness of their dietary choices and reported adopting healthier eating behaviors including higher frequency of eating fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains compared with non-users. They were also more likely to monitor food intake and perceive wearable technology as beneficial for improving dietary behaviors. Smartwatch use was associated with enhanced dietary awareness and healthier eating practices among college students. Integrating wearable technologies into health promotion programs may help encourage sustainable lifestyle improvements in this age group, but generalizing these results should take individual motivations and accessibility differences into account.