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| The Hapifork monitors your every bite and provides feedback on how much you eat with it. CREDIT: Hapilabs |
From
earbuds that monitor your heart rate to forks that follow your every bite, some
inventive new health technologies were introduced at the Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) 2013 in Las Vegas this week. Here's a roundup of gadgets designed to
promote well-being that were featured at CES 2013.
The fork that follows each bite
The
HAPIfork is an electronic fork that keeps track of how often you move food from
your plate to your mouth. If you're shoveling your dinner faster than one scoop
every 10 seconds, the battery-operated HAPIfork lights up and vibrates like a
cellphone, letting you know to slow down. The fork, which retails for $99, is
also slightly smaller than a typical fork to encourage portion control.
There
is evidence that slower eating helps dieters control their calorie intake. In a
2006 study, diners who ate slowly consumed significantly fewer calories than
those who ate quickly. And a study from 2009 may have discovered why: People
who ate slowly reported a greater sense of fullness than those who ate faster.
Track your whole family's health from
your smartphone
GeoPalz
revealed two products at CES that reward kids for physical activity and let
parents track their family's overall physical health. The ibitz PowerKey for
kids connects to any Bluetooth-ready smartphone and uses a pedometer to track
activity, which is then converted into "keys" that unlock rewards,
such as games, apps, shows and custom prizes.
A
complementary product for parents, the ibitz Unity, monitors the entire
family's health in one place, tracking steps, distance, weight, height, overall
physical activity and body mass index (BMI), which is a measure of body fatness
based on a ratio of height and weight.
A watch that keeps the time and your
heart rate
Unlike
other heart rate-monitoring accessories that require a chest strap, the Mio
Alpha wristband cuts out the middleman and uses two light sensors, which
"see" how quickly your blood is flowing to measure heart rate
directly. That information is displayed on the watch, which is designed for
runners who want to make sure that their heart rate remains in an optimal zone.
To that end, the watch can alert you via a small LED to whether you're in the
zone. It also has Bluetooth built in, and can work with any number of Android
and iOS apps, including Runkeeper, MapMyRun, MapMyRide and Wahoo Fitness.
Earbuds that tune in to your workout
In
addition to listening to music, you can keep track of your heart rate and
workout performance by wearing iRiver On headphones when you go for a jog.
Powered by PerformTek Precision Biometrics technology, the headphones include a
light emitter and light sensor in one earpiece to capture heart rate. The
headphones also mix smartphone data to measure speed, cadence and aerobic performance.
The headphones, which attach to a collar worn around the neck, will work over
Bluetooth 3.0 with an app for Android and iOS when it launches in March.
Bands that stay on top of fitness stats
Smaller
than an iPod nano, the BodyMedia CORE 2 straps around your arm and has four
sensors that track calories burned, activity levels and sleep patterns. The
armband has interchangeable face plates, straps and cuffs, for those who want
to match the device with what they're wearing. Other features include a
Bluetooth Smart Ready technology, which will make it easier to pair with its
smartphone app and increase battery life.
Separately,
the new Fitbit Flex is a wristband that tracks your activity and sleep patterns
and syncs with a smartphone app to show you how active your lifestyle is. The
band can measure how many steps you've taken, calories burned and quality and
amount of sleep; it will also gently buzz to wake you in the morning. Four LED
lights on the band show you how far along you are toward meeting that day's
goals.
Source: Live Science
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