The World Health Organization has opened a global consultation on technical requirements for wearable devices used to measure physical activity and sedentary behaviour in public health monitoring programmes.
The consultation began on November 8 and will remain open until December 6, 2026.
WHO is seeking feedback on a draft target product profile for wrist-worn devices intended for national and subnational population health surveillance.
Devices intended for population monitoring
The proposed specifications concern devices used to collect information about movement and sedentary behaviour across populations.
Such information can support research into physical inactivity and its relationship with noncommunicable diseases.
WHO says wearable technology could complement existing approaches to monitoring physical activity.
However, routine use of wearable devices in population surveillance remains limited, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Technical requirements under consultation
The draft target product profile identifies minimum and additional specifications for devices intended for public health monitoring.
It also considers data access, implementation requirements and operational deployment.
WHO is seeking feedback on whether the proposed specifications are technically sound and practical across different national settings.
The consultation does not establish that any particular commercial wearable device has received WHO approval.
Lower-resource countries invited to participate
WHO is encouraging participation from national health authorities, public health institutions, statistical agencies and researchers.
Technology developers, device manufacturers, standards organisations and civil society groups are also invited to provide feedback.
The agency has specifically requested contributions from countries with limited technical and financial resources.
Those submissions could identify obstacles associated with device costs, data collection and the operation of monitoring systems.
Consultation closes December 6
WHO intends to use the responses to revise and finalise the target product profile.
The feedback will also inform future implementation guidance and technical assistance.
The draft remains under consultation. It should not be described as a completed international standard.
WHO has not announced a date for publishing the final specifications.
