Background
Globally, health-related research capacity and production, including in the interconnected fields of physical activity and environmental epidemiology, is disproportionately skewed towards high-income countries.1–4 The dearth of evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and other low-resource settings spans the spectrum of population surveillance, etiological research, intervention development and implementation, and policy research. These disparities hinder the development of locally relevant policy and interventions, and clinical and public health guidelines, further perpetuating inequality in evidence and capacity. In this context, we position wearable technologies as transformative mechanisms set to reshape environmental and behavioural surveillance and epidemiology, where dedicated action is required to avoid widening established inequalities in research. In this editorial, we discuss the current landscape regarding the use of wearables in physical activity and environmental research, highlight key considerations for their use in low-resource settings, and introduce a new academic network…
