Navigating the Choice Between Wrist-Worn Research- and Consumer-Grade Wearables to Monitor Movement Behaviours: A Perspective

Wrist-worn wearables are increasingly used to monitor movement behaviours in research and daily life. While consumer- and research-grade devices share overlapping capabilities, guidance on selecting the most appropriate device for specific research contexts remains limited. We provide an expert-opinion-based perspective to support device selection based on three key dimensions: (1) contextual and procedural requirements, (2) scientific requirements, and (3) device and user requirements. The perspective is based on discussions within the Swiss School of Public Health+ 'Big Data in Public Health' workshop and a targeted, non-systematic literature review, as well as expert feedback. It is illustrated using two case examples: monitoring movement in Parkinson's disease and promoting physical activity in older adults. This perspective may help novices in the field of wearable research by providing guidance that could facilitate informed decision-making, balancing scientific rigour with practical feasibility, and supporting the effective integration of wearable technologies in movement behaviour research.