Fitness trackers have gained an unprecedented popularity among health enthusiasts over the past few years, but a new study has suggested that these devices are not as efficient as their manufacturers claim.

The new study by a team of researchers at the Duke NUS Medical School in Singapore followed 800 adults for a period of one year, and randomly assigned participants into four different groups, some using the fitness trackers and some not.

One of the four groups was given a Fitbit to wear daily along with a cash incentive of up to $22 a week if they would walk at least 50,000 steps per week.

The second group was given the Fitbit plus the incentive, but with the condition that they would donate the money to a charity. The third group received the Fitbit without any incentive, and the fourth group received no Fitbit and no money.

The results revealed that only those participants actually walked more who were given cash incentives of up to $22 and allowed to keep the money. Even, these participants didn't lose any weight or lower their blood pressure.

Commenting on the discouraging findings, lead author Dr. Eric Finkelstein said, "I thought the Fitbit would work better than it did. I also thought and hoped the charity arm would show great effects, but it did not."

The study was detailed in a recent edition of the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to providing a comprehensive, authoritative and self-sufficient forum for high impact clinical research and opinion.