The device is small but some believe it’s the next big thing in health and fitness. The Bodybugg, made by Bodymedia Inc. and marketed by Apex Fitness Group, is a small device worn on the arm that monitors and records a wearer’s calorie burn rate. Once this information is uploaded to a personal web page and matched to the day’s food intake, one can see if there was an excess or deficit of calories for the day. Its simplicity is its beauty, say proponents.
‘This thing is amazing,’ declared Tertius Broderick, manger of World Gym and Cayman’s exclusive distributor of the Bodybugg. ‘It really works. Losing fat comes down to how many calories you take in and how many calories you burn. This lets you know that accurately every day so you can adjust your exercise and eating to achieve your goals. I lost 25 pounds in 12 weeks. Diets don’t work, this does.’
Broderick says 27 local people are now using the Bodybugg and all but two report significant results so far.
‘It’s reasonable to expect to lose between 10 and 25 pounds in three months,’ said Broderick. ‘But what is more important than how fast you lose the pounds is that the Bodybugg helps you change your lifestyle so that your improvement becomes permanent.’
The Bodybugg monitors and records four factors related to calorie burning: 1) motion 2) dissipation of heat, 3) dilation of sweat glands, and 4) skin temperature. Its creators claim an accuracy rate of 92 percent.
Downloading the data to a user’s personal web page is done via a wireless modem plugged into a computer’s UBS port. Download time is about 60 seconds.
The web page is designed to make comprehension of the information fast and easy. Food is logged by clicking items on the menu or entering a specific food item and estimating portion size. The program automatically adds up the calories from food and automatically adds up the calories burned. Then the two figures are automatically compared to determine if fat was gained or lost for the day, week or month, depending on what time period is selected. The entire web interface procedure can be completed in as little as 10 minutes per day.
Chris Pacione, a cofounder of Bodymedia, says he is trying to bring technology down to a level where it useful to everyone. In addition to fitness, his company is developing and selling other innovative devices for monitoring people with medical conditions, the elderly and anyone else who simply wants to keep a close eye on their health.
‘If you look at me, you wouldn’t know that I have a wearable computer on me,’ he said. ‘We have to figure out ways to insert useful technology into every day life and that’s what we are trying to do with the Bodybugg. Health information allows you to adopt a better lifestyle. We should all be proactive with our wellness. This information allows people to take control of what they are doing. It’s an incredible motivator. It becomes kind of like a game. The problem with diets is that people adopt an unsustainable lifestyle, lose a little bit of weight but then go back to their old lifestyle and regain the fat. I don’t diet, I just adopted a healthier lifestyle based on the information that the Bodybugg gave me.’
World Gym is selling the Bodybugg system for CI$475. This price includes the Bodybugg device, three months use of the personalized web page and six sessions with a personal trainer to conduct an assessment, set goals and monitor progress.
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