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In the growing age of the Internet of Things (IoT), the increased exposure to radiation has become a topic of concern, and more articles are starting to pop up explaining this little understood topic.  Recently, Dr. Rajan Pandey discussed these health hazards, especially with wearable devices, beginning with an interesting comparison.

“Back when smoking was accepted for both men and women in the US, a majority of physicians smoked. Yet, there was rising public worry about the risks associated with the use of cigarettes. The marketing response of tobacco companies was to employ the aide of physicians who reportedly saw no problem with the use of cigarettes,” he said. “As these ads, using doctors, continued through the 1950s, executives in the tobacco industry used the physician image to put to rest any concerns the customers might have that their cigarette brands were unsafe.”

Today, he added, “we face this same sort of marketing agenda, in regards to fitness wearables.”

Dr. Pandey states that many of these fitness wearables are untested, unscientific and can cause anxiety. While these wearables are being paraded as the greatest new thing in the health industry, they may actually be imposing great risk.

Q: What are some of the health problems associated with these wearable devices?

Dr. Pandey: Radiation that is released by these gadgets can cause reduced sperm counts, eye irritation, headaches, reduced appetite, nausea, mood swings and sleep disruption.

In this day and age, there is a plethora of IoT gadgets and gizmos, which has become the norm in society. These devices have become so ingrained in the regular lives of people, despite the cost, and these people are surely paying a high price, in more ways than one.

Q: What is considered to be the cause of these wearable devices becoming such a massive health risk to people?

Dr. Pandey: The Electro-Magnetic Radiation (EMR) and radio signals, which are released continuously by these gadgets, have become one of the most toxic forms of pollution and a major health concern. With the constant use of cell phones and electronic devices, which offer near constant connectivity, hazardous toxins are wreaking havoc on the human body slowly and surely. EMR has actually been categorized as a slow poison by some countries.

Q: Aren’t many of these wearable devices designed to improve a person’s health?

Dr. Pandey: Fitness fanatics and beginners alike all use these gadgets geared toward exercise, such as Smart Watches. Cell phones are usually kept by their users in pockets.   Even when people aren’t using their devices, the devices are still interacting with towers, and the radiation that is released can be harmful to the area of the body that is close to the phone. All this may lead to interference with heart beat patterns, because the natural electrical pacemakers are disrupted by the radiation emitted from these devices.  Keeping a mobile phone in a pants pocket increases the chances of a reduced sperm count. Headaches, irritation to the eyes, reduced appetite, sleep problems and mood swings are all things that a person could suffer from due to overuse of these devices.

Dr. Pandey states that children are the ones at risk the most, due to their skulls being thinner, and their still developing nervous systems. And aside from the actual environmental toxins emitted from these IoT wearable devices, there is another danger produced.  People are so engrossed in their gadgets, they are not paying attention to the real world.  Many accidents are caused by drivers who are texting, or pedestrians who are walking, while simultaneously staring at their phones.  This issue has caused many cities across the country to incorporate laws forbidding the use of cell phones while driving.

Q: Is there any research to support the fact that these devices are harmful?

Dr. Pandey: There is existing information from the WHO panel that consisted of 31 scientists from 14 countries, in which the panel deduced that cell phones were “possibly carcinogenic” and the devices could be as toxic as certain pesticides. The WHO panel also recognized that the amount of distance a device is from a person’s head directly correlates with the level of pollution they are exposed to, so it is safer to text than make a phone call, where the phone would be touching a person’s ear.”

Wearable technology won’t be disappearing and will most likely continue to increase.  But adults and children alike need to limit the amount of time they spend connected to their devices.  Don’t keep these IoT devices near you when you don’t need to.  Try to minimize your exposure.

It’s been more than a year since the ill-fated Fitbit Force tracker was pulled off shelves due its allergy-inducing wristband. Despite the ailment, the device otherwise received high praise for being one of the best — if not the best — fitness trackers on the market.

Now the company has introduced a reboot of the Force with a brand new name: the Fitbit Charge, and like the previous model, it’s a solid tracker that covers the basics. The Charge monitors steps taken, calories burned, quality of sleep and even shows you what time it is.

The new tracker has a few extra bells and whistles, too: Notably, notifications from your smartphone are pushed to the device’s display, and it has an improved clasp design, which keeps it from mysteriously disappearing from your wrists.

Battery life is improved, too — rated to last 10 days on a single charge.

But fitness trackers have made a lot of advancements since the original launch of the Force. Some devices offer more notifications and features beyond what the Fitbit delivers. Android wear includes your social-network notifications, and the Microsoft Band will let you pay for your Starbucks coffee via the display.

Other fitness-focused wearables like the Basis Peak offer continuous heart-rate tracking, so you can see how the heart handles both workouts and daily stresses. The Charge doesn't do this either.

That's one of the biggest issues with Fitbit’s newest gadget: It’s a perfectly good tracker at $129.95, but 

While the Force was a standout back when it launched in 2013, its Charge reboot is no longer a game-changer. That doesn’t mean, of course, it’s not a viable fitness tracker. It is; you'd just be wise to wait for the Charge HR instead.for just $20, the Fitbit Charge HR (launching in early 2015) will come with continuous heart-rate monitoring, and that alone is worth holding off for the larger investment.

Let’s take a closer look at why:

The hardware of the Charge is similar to the Force with a few tweaks: the wristband is more texturized thanks to small ridges that form a subtle pattern. It’s lighter on the wrists, too, and is one of the least-obtrusive designs we’ve seen, especially for one with a screen (such designs tend to be clunkier). It’s not often you’ll forget you’re wearing a tracker until it buzzes with a notification.

But the design is still not as sleek as Jawbone's tracker lineup and, once again, it’s not something you’d want to leave on during a chic dinner. Unlike the Fitbit Flex (the predecessor to the Force that's still popular today), the core system doesn’t pop out of the wristband and can’t transferred into a more fashionable option (like one from high-end designer Tory Burch).

This means you’re stuck with whatever color you choose (blue or black). The good news, however, is that the clasp is noticeably improved: It fits more snugly around the wrists and didn’t fall off once during testing. In the past, Fitbit device’s have been tricky to secure — the Charge goes on and off in a cinch.

However, you still can’t completely submerge Fitbit products in water. They're water-resistant, but you have to take it off (and remember to put it back on) every time you hop in the shower or go for a swim.

One of the biggest improvements to the Fitbit Charge is that you no longer have to put the device into sleep mode at night. Yes, just like the jolly guy at the North Pole, it knows when you’re awake and when you’re not. Owners of previous Fitbits (or those with other wristband trackers) likely know the frustration of waking up in the morning with no new collected data because it was never switched to sleep mode in the first place.

The Charge takes this step out of the equation altogether — a small but useful perk. However, it looks more closely at your nighttime cycle (deep sleep vs. light sleep), rather than a 30-minute cat nap you might sneak in during the day.

Even still, the Charge (like most of Fitbit’s product offerings) is easy to use. It’s now possible to call out workouts and monitor how many calories were burned during a specific period.Clearly, sensitivity to arm movement is still something Fitbit, and other builders of fitness trackers, have yet to perfect. You can trick the device into thinking your moving when you’re merely reading a book or moving your arms during a conversation, so precise accuracy should be taken with a grain of salt. At the same time, activity notifications lagged for me, too: I got an email congratulating me of my 10,000-step victory a day late.

There are a few software updates available, including a new feature called Challenges that lets you go head to head with friends throughout the week, weekend or daily. And of course, the smartwatch-like alerts are particularly handy, which show you who's calling or texting via a message that pops up on the display. The device vibrates each time this happens too, so you don’t need to reach for your smartphone to see who’s contacting you. +1 for not being rude at dinner.

However, you can’t respond to notifications like you could with a smartwatch. All of this is forgiveable, of course, because first and foremost, the Charge is a fitness tracker. The Microsoft Band, another new fitness tracker, packs all the notifications you’d ever want onto its device, but as a trade-off: It’s far bigger and noticeable than the Charge, which is also softer to the touch.

For now, the Charge is truly an improved reboot of the Fitbit Force, but that’s about it. If you’re looking for a comprehensive fitness tracker to give you a bigger picture of your overall health, wait patiently and save your pennies for the Charge HR (again, at only $20 more), due in early 2015.

And if you're willing to spend more, the Fitbit Surge "superwatch" ($249) — a device specialized for runners with more smartwatch capabilities — is coming in the same time frame. The key takeaway: Fitbit has a lot more up its sleeve, so there's no need to settle on the basic Charge tracker now.