Will fitness gadgets actually make us fit?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, CES, CES 2013, Wearables, Features,

Over the past few years, a new category of gadget has emerged with the aim of quantifying our health. You know the ones--Fitbit. Nike FuelBand. JawBone Up. Withings Wi-Fi Scale (and Smart Activity Tracker!). Fitbit Aria Scale. The list goes on. There are trackers and scales from tons of companies that'll sync your details to their servers, share them with services of your choosing, giving you pretty graphs and hopeful motivation from friends and followers to do the right thing as it pertains to diet and exercise. After all, sitting is killing us. Are all of these gadgets actually moving the needle in terms of our fitness levels? Our friend, Dave Taylor, takes a closer look and chimes in with his toughts after the jump.

Click to continue reading Will fitness gadgets actually make us fit?

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24 Hour Fitness Launches bodybugg Upgrade, Now Mac Compatible

Posted by Patrick Phelps Categories: Accessories, Wearables, Corporate News, Misc. Tech, PC / Laptop,

If you’re a fan of the hit NBC reality series, “The Biggest Loser,” you’ve no doubt noticed that contestants wear a device called a bodybugg on the back of their right arm. The bodybugg is a biometric calorie management system available through 24 Hour Fitness, which uses four sensors to convert measurements of galvanic skin response, physical activity, and body temperature into a real-time measurement of calories burned throughout the day. Users wear the compact armband, which easily fits under clothing, over the triceps on their upper left arm - allowing you to take it everywhere you go.

According to the release, “No matter what activity a user is doing – washing dishes, playing with the kids or working out – the bodybugg calculates the amount of energy expended in each motion. Users then download their captured bodybugg data to a Web interface that tracks caloric measurements and helps them monitor their food intake and activity levels as they seek to achieve their fitness goals. The Web interface includes customized menus and a database of thousands of common foods to make calorie-tracking simple.”

Upgraded features of the new bodybugg system include:

• New sleek, contemporary look and 50% smaller size
• USB cable to upload data and charge the device
• Now both PC and Mac compatible
• A free six-month (previously only three-month) online subscription to the www.bodybugg.com Web interface for tracking progress and success.

The basic principle behind weight loss is simple: you just need to burn more calories than you take in; combining the bodybugg with it’s online services and adjusting your own personal choices based on its recommendations, weight loss may just become a little easier. Watch for a review in the near-future.

Read More | MarketWatch

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