The role of technology in attacking the global obesity pandemic

[Jingthing]

Interesting video on this topic.

Bottom line -- there's stuff going on but nothing yet that is very dramatic.

Some interesting introductory quotes from the video:

Everyone in this room knows how to lose weight ... right. It's a very simple formula, eat less exercise more. The problem is it doesn't actually work.

Because anywhere you go in the world and you ask people how to lose weight they are always going to tell you eat less excercise more. but telling people giving people that one piece of information is actually completely insufficient to deal the scale of the problem. and part of that is because this problem is now embedded in every aspect of our lives Its how we work our sleep patterns its how we get from one place to another transportation its how we organize our children's schooling its in every aspect of our lives so

...

The one thing we do know is shaming people … actually undermines rather than encourages weight loss. The overweight face bullying at school and are less likely to get into college or get a job offer. That’s because a weight problem is seen as a moral failing. Furthermore, fat stigma—which used to be a largely Western phenomenon—has spread around the globe. The problem of obesity ... has become far too large and complicated to fix by yelling at people.

(Alexandra Brewis-Slade, the director of operations for Arizona State University-Mayo Obesity Solutions)

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/11/15/future_tense_event_recap_on_technology_and_the_obesity_crisis.html

Edited November 22, 2013 by Jingthing

[singa-traz]

A different, lighter, but a bit sarcastic, view on the same topic:

However, on a more serious note, and related to usage of technology, have a look at Fitbit (http://www.fitbit.com)

Get a group of friends to compete in a fun and friendly way, to be more active.

[Jingthing]

I suppose this is worth mentioning in the context of potential scientific breakthroughs in the clinical treatment of obesity.

The concept here is the development of a computer chip implanted in the body which would control satiation.

Obviously if it worked and was safe, it would be less invasive than bariatric surgery.

It does have the advantage of being "high tech" and none of the gross associations of gut bacteria and poo implants.

Anyway, whether this ever actually becomes an alternative, and how long that will take, I don't a clue.

Still ... interesting I think:

The research group headed by ETH-Zurich professor Martin Fussenegger from the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering in Basel has now developed an early warning system and treatment: an implantable genetic circuit mainly composed of human gene components. On the one hand, it constantly monitors the circulating fat levels in the blood. On the other hand, it has a feedback function and forms a messenger substance in response to excessively high blood-fat levels that conveys a sense of satiety to the body.

https://www.ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2013/11/implant-slimming-aid.html

[h90]

I suppose this is worth mentioning in the context of potential scientific breakthroughs in the clinical treatment of obesity.

The concept here is the development of a computer chip implanted in the body which would control satiation.

Obviously if it worked and was safe, it would be less invasive than bariatric surgery.

It does have the advantage of being "high tech" and none of the gross associations of gut bacteria and poo implants.

Anyway, whether this ever actually becomes an alternative, and how long that will take, I don't a clue.

Still ... interesting I think:

The research group headed by ETH-Zurich professor Martin Fussenegger from the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering in Basel has now developed an early warning system and treatment: an implantable genetic circuit mainly composed of human gene components. On the one hand, it constantly monitors the circulating fat levels in the blood. On the other hand, it has a feedback function and forms a messenger substance in response to excessively high blood-fat levels that conveys a sense of satiety to the body.

https://www.ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2013/11/implant-slimming-aid.html

Well first of all "eat less and exercise more" is proofed to work. In 100 % of all cases where it was tried it did work.

Just it didn't work where people didn't do it.

Implanting a computer chip instead? Before I let someone cut my body open and put in a computer chip that mess around with my system, I would let someone lock me in a room without food, that would also work and is way less invasive.

[FiftyTwo]

"The one thing we do know is shaming people actually undermines rather than encourages weight loss. The overweight face bullying at school and are less likely to get into college or get a job offer. Thats because a weight problem is seen as a moral failing. Furthermore, fat stigmawhich used to be a largely Western phenomenonhas spread around the globe. The problem of obesity ... has become far too large and complicated to fix by yelling at people."

Being fat IS a moral failing.

Fat people are fat because they are lazy and/or greedy.

I've never met a fat person who was fat because of mysterious 'medical problems', they were always clearly lazy and/or greedy.

You want to lose weight, eat less and exercise more.

[h90]

"The one thing we do know is shaming people actually undermines rather than encourages weight loss. The overweight face bullying at school and are less likely to get into college or get a job offer. Thats because a weight problem is seen as a moral failing. Furthermore, fat stigmawhich used to be a largely Western phenomenonhas spread around the globe. The problem of obesity ... has become far too large and complicated to fix by yelling at people."

Being fat IS a moral failing.

Fat people are fat because they are lazy and/or greedy.

I've never met a fat person who was fat because of mysterious 'medical problems', they were always clearly lazy and/or greedy.

You want to lose weight, eat less and exercise more.

I have overheard ....and no joke, real....two fat women, drinking coffee with artificial sweetener, and a lot creme and eat a fat, sweet cake telling each other that they only eat a small salad per day but for any reason the weight isn't going down. Telling it WHILE eating the cake...

[Jingthing]

"The one thing we do know is shaming people actually undermines rather than encourages weight loss. The overweight face bullying at school and are less likely to get into college or get a job offer. Thats because a weight problem is seen as a moral failing. Furthermore, fat stigmawhich used to be a largely Western phenomenonhas spread around the globe. The problem of obesity ... has become far too large and complicated to fix by yelling at people."

Being fat IS a moral failing.

Fat people are fat because they are lazy and/or greedy.

I've never met a fat person who was fat because of mysterious 'medical problems', they were always clearly lazy and/or greedy.

You want to lose weight, eat less and exercise more.

I have overheard ....and no joke, real....two fat women, drinking coffee with artificial sweetener, and a lot creme and eat a fat, sweet cake telling each other that they only eat a small salad per day but for any reason the weight isn't going down. Telling it WHILE eating the cake...

So you think that kind of ignorance represents all fat people? It sounds like you are coming on here to advocate SHAMING fat people. That is so completely wrong and unhelpful.

[Jingthing]

I suppose this is worth mentioning in the context of potential scientific breakthroughs in the clinical treatment of obesity.

The concept here is the development of a computer chip implanted in the body which would control satiation.

Obviously if it worked and was safe, it would be less invasive than bariatric surgery.

It does have the advantage of being "high tech" and none of the gross associations of gut bacteria and poo implants.

Anyway, whether this ever actually becomes an alternative, and how long that will take, I don't a clue.

Still ... interesting I think:

The research group headed by ETH-Zurich professor Martin Fussenegger from the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering in Basel has now developed an early warning system and treatment: an implantable genetic circuit mainly composed of human gene components. On the one hand, it constantly monitors the circulating fat levels in the blood. On the other hand, it has a feedback function and forms a messenger substance in response to excessively high blood-fat levels that conveys a sense of satiety to the body.

https://www.ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2013/11/implant-slimming-aid.html

Well first of all "eat less and exercise more" is proofed to work. In 100 % of all cases where it was tried it did work.

Just it didn't work where people didn't do it.

Implanting a computer chip instead? Before I let someone cut my body open and put in a computer chip that mess around with my system, I would let someone lock me in a room without food, that would also work and is way less invasive.

Actually, it's much much more complicated than that which any actual researcher on obesity knows. You can learn about that looking at some of the sources on this forum. You have failed to consider WHY it is that the vast majority of obese people are unsuccessful with your simplistic prescription. There are scientific reasons that have nothing with crude moral judgments.

[singa-traz]

Jingthing, on 29 Nov 2013 - 12:46, said:

Jingthing, on 29 Nov 2013 - 12:46, said:

...

Actually, it's much much more complicated than that which any actual researcher on obesity knows. You can learn about that looking at some of the sources on this forum. You have failed to consider WHY it is that the vast majority of obese people are unsuccessful with your simplistic prescription. There are scientific reasons that have nothing with crude moral judgments. 

 

My view is that the vast majority of obese people are unsuccessful with their weight control, the same reasons people fail to implement their New Year's Resolution.

http://blog.bufferapp.com/the-science-of-new-years-resolutions-why-88-fail-and-how-to-make-them-work

A video I posted before, that illustrate the mechanism and offer ideas.

To come back to the technology discussion:

• Measurement: A Wifi weight scale, it looked like a gadget to me for a long time, but it reduce to minimum the weight tracking.

  "You can't control what you don't measure!"

• Social/Peer Pressure: That's what I like in Fitbit, where you can share with friends your level of daily activities.

  It combine automatic measurement, and social "competition"

The reason I don't do detailed food tracking ... too much effort. I just do portion control.

I wish there was a solution to do something like this:

• Take and upload pictures of your plate
• Estimate Calories
• Offer advise/suggestion on your diet

Maybe I should start a company to do just that :-)

Edited November 29, 2013 by singa-traz

[h90]

Jingthing, on 29 Nov 2013 - 12:46, said:

Jingthing, on 29 Nov 2013 - 12:46, said:

...

Actually, it's much much more complicated than that which any actual researcher on obesity knows. You can learn about that looking at some of the sources on this forum. You have failed to consider WHY it is that the vast majority of obese people are unsuccessful with your simplistic prescription. There are scientific reasons that have nothing with crude moral judgments. 

 

My view is that the vast majority of obese people are unsuccessful with their weight control, the same reasons people fail to implement their New Year's Resolution.

http://blog.bufferapp.com/the-science-of-new-years-resolutions-why-88-fail-and-how-to-make-them-work

A video I posted before, that illustrate the mechanism and offer ideas.

To come back to the technology discussion:

• Measurement: A Wifi weight scale, it looked like a gadget to me for a long time, but it reduce to minimum the weight tracking.

  "You can't control what you don't measure!"

• Social/Peer Pressure: That's what I like in Fitbit, where you can share with friends your level of daily activities.

  It combine automatic measurement, and social "competition"

The reason I don't do detailed food tracking ... too much effort. I just do portion control.

I wish there was a solution to do something like this:

• Take and upload pictures of your plate
• Estimate Calories
• Offer advise/suggestion on your diet

Maybe I should start a company to do just that :-)

One major problem is: That bad food is everywhere available and promoted. If being uninterested you get fat even if you try to keep slim.

If you grow up with junk food, than being 20 years old, terrible fat and complete programmed on eating junk industry food, than it is a very big step to change that.

Of course it is possible but really terrible difficult.

[singa-traz]

...

One major problem is: That bad food is everywhere available and promoted. If being uninterested you get fat even if you try to keep slim.

If you grow up with junk food, than being 20 years old, terrible fat and complete programmed on eating junk industry food, than it is a very big step to change that.

Of course it is possible but really terrible difficult.

I agree. Life is not fair (and I'm not being sarcastic here). We don't start on the same starting line, with the same capacities/abilities.

What I disagree with, is the notion that it is out of our control.

The fact that it is difficult should not be an excuse to give up or a reason to hope that the problem will disapear, in some magical way.

The following quote is related to wealth, but can apply to health as well (to a certain extend).

The challenge I see for weight control, is that most people are preparing for a sprint ... and it's a marathon game.

And for some, it's even more than a marathon.

I have 9kg to get back to a normal weight range, I could tell myself I would do it in 3 months, or more realistically I should make it a 6 months goals ... or I could focus on my activities: 15-20km of jogging a week.

Which one am I really in control?

Personally, it has been a multiple steps project over a couple of years:

• realizing that I needed to do something about it.
  • Low energy
  • Constantly getting sick (flu type)
  • Too much stress
  • Getting fat. I have a picture of me ... and when I looked at it, I told myself "Where does this second chin come from?"
• doing something about it
  • getting back to sport
  • moving more. Yes, you can take the stairs at the BTS instead of the elevators.
  • avoiding fast food
  • etc ...
• And has it did not seemed to work, so I looked for help
  • getting advise from a coach
  • creating a virtual group who has the same goal
  • reading about change and motivation
  • getting the family to be part of the activities
  • being more concious about what and the quantity I eat
  • etc ...

So, yes, if people have been raised eating improperly with low self-control, I can understand the challenge is bigger. For me, I see this as an opportunity, the motivation should be even higher (BTW, I make a distinction between motivation and willpower).

As for bad food being everywhere, easily available and promoted ... Yes, and people need a back up strategy when they will feel tempted.

I stopped buying this one and my kids hated me for this ... for a week or two.

The thing is that there are many ways to get the required level of motivation to change, it's out there, and if people had more realistic expectation it would work more often.

Are you a failure if your weight loss journey is taking 2-3 years instead of 1?

That's why I laught about my friends doing low carb diet ... in countries where every dish has rice on it.

The environment you live in, is against you.

And yes, you can win the sprint ... but the race is longer than 100m.

Personally, my next level will be to learn how to cook.

From a technical perspcective, I would love an application that would be able to suggest, proper meals, based on my eating habits.

With a growing obese population, there maybe is a market for this.

[prighas]

If I tell you today that Gordon Ramsay will be cooking at least 10 dishes for you tomorrow night, come hungry - what would you do and how would you prepare for it?

It would have to be:

1. You'll eat less today and tomorrow until the dinner.

2. You'll try to exert some activity to ensure you've burned enough energy and are ready to refuel.

Note the controversy here: advice given to lose weight is same as that given to people who want to eat more.

Message is: it's not about overeating and exercising. These are not permanent solutions to weight loss - only temporary.

It's about the quality of the food you're eating rather than the quality. This I have concluded after personal research and after years of trying various types of diet that just never work.

Cut the sugar from your diet and eat natural foods. Stay away from processed products and low-fat replacements. Eat quality food and allow your body time to digest it (keep away from eating or drinking too late).

Exercise for better health and not to lose weight. Don't follow-up on your exercise with a hefty meal. A morning walk is good because it the warrants a good natural breakfast void of sugar and carbs. I hope this helps.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[h90]

...

One major problem is: That bad food is everywhere available and promoted. If being uninterested you get fat even if you try to keep slim.

If you grow up with junk food, than being 20 years old, terrible fat and complete programmed on eating junk industry food, than it is a very big step to change that.

Of course it is possible but really terrible difficult.

I agree. Life is not fair (and I'm not being sarcastic here). We don't start on the same starting line, with the same capacities/abilities.

What I disagree with, is the notion that it is out of our control.

The fact that it is difficult should not be an excuse to give up or a reason to hope that the problem will disapear, in some magical way.

The following quote is related to wealth, but can apply to health as well (to a certain extend).

The challenge I see for weight control, is that most people are preparing for a sprint ... and it's a marathon game.

And for some, it's even more than a marathon.

I have 9kg to get back to a normal weight range, I could tell myself I would do it in 3 months, or more realistically I should make it a 6 months goals ... or I could focus on my activities: 15-20km of jogging a week.

Which one am I really in control?

Personally, it has been a multiple steps project over a couple of years:

• realizing that I needed to do something about it.
  • Low energy
  • Constantly getting sick (flu type)
  • Too much stress
  • Getting fat. I have a picture of me ... and when I looked at it, I told myself "Where does this second chin come from?"
• doing something about it
  • getting back to sport
  • moving more. Yes, you can take the stairs at the BTS instead of the elevators.
  • avoiding fast food
  • etc ...
• And has it did not seemed to work, so I looked for help
  • getting advise from a coach
  • creating a virtual group who has the same goal
  • reading about change and motivation
  • getting the family to be part of the activities
  • being more concious about what and the quantity I eat
  • etc ...

So, yes, if people have been raised eating improperly with low self-control, I can understand the challenge is bigger. For me, I see this as an opportunity, the motivation should be even higher (BTW, I make a distinction between motivation and willpower).

As for bad food being everywhere, easily available and promoted ... Yes, and people need a back up strategy when they will feel tempted.

I stopped buying this one and my kids hated me for this ... for a week or two.

The thing is that there are many ways to get the required level of motivation to change, it's out there, and if people had more realistic expectation it would work more often.

Are you a failure if your weight loss journey is taking 2-3 years instead of 1?

That's why I laught about my friends doing low carb diet ... in countries where every dish has rice on it.

The environment you live in, is against you.

And yes, you can win the sprint ... but the race is longer than 100m.

Personally, my next level will be to learn how to cook.

From a technical perspcective, I would love an application that would be able to suggest, proper meals, based on my eating habits.

With a growing obese population, there maybe is a market for this.

Of course it is not out of control, but it is very difficult and needs a lot of will power. And than on the other hand, coming from such a family they never learned to have discipline.

So I understand it is hard....not impossible.

Well low carb....I wouldn't call it that way...I would call it natural diet or protein rich diet.....I am eating something like low carb, low fat. But not because I read it somewhere.

I figured out that if I eat rice I am hungry again in 2 hours. While eating only meat I don't get low blood sugar. And of course I eat as little as possible....Now I am on my last battle.....my belly and that needs time....

[singa-traz]

...

Of course it is not out of control, but it is very difficult and needs a lot of will power. And than on the other hand, coming from such a family they never learned to have discipline.

So I understand it is hard....not impossible.

Well low carb....I wouldn't call it that way...I would call it natural diet or protein rich diet.....I am eating something like low carb, low fat. But not because I read it somewhere.

I figured out that if I eat rice I am hungry again in 2 hours. While eating only meat I don't get low blood sugar. And of course I eat as little as possible....Now I am on my last battle.....my belly and that needs time....

People over estimate the amount of real will power required. What they need first is determination - Make a firm decision and have a plan.

Tell 2-3 of your friends and/or your family, what you are up to ... nothing beat peer pressure and positive feedback.

I can see this in action with Fitbit, where friends are not yet meeting their steps target per day, and are finding ways to catch up, asking the group how to achieve it: Both peer support and peer pressure.

One person in the group started to realise that if he wanted to catch up with me, he would have to jog 1-2 times in the week.

Another one decided on a morning walk (15-20 mins) to meet her own target.

On their own, it was unlikely that they would have been able to make those small but important changes.

Using a small and stupid competition (number of steps walked per day) was enought.

Peer pressure reduce the needs to rely on your own will power. My kids check every day if I'm meeting my target .

So here is my long term plan:

• Have regular activities (sports) and commit to a certain level (via Fitbit)
• Set some goals/target: Jogging 10km in less than xx mins. Very realistic target that I can strech slowly but surely
• The regular activities continue to strenghten my self-discipline to a point where very little is needed to sustain it.
• Shift my focus on the food quality (as a poster mentioned), by learning how to cook and make better decision in food selection.
• Keep doing it, by helping others

So for me, exercising (moderatly) is helping me to be healthier and loss weight, at the same time.

It's also a great motivator to better control what and how much I eat.

[FiftyTwo]

It's amazing the extremes fat people will go to excuse their being lazy and greedy.

Your lifestyle need to change so you eat less and exercise more.

A fifteen minute walk on level ground will do nothing for your weight problem.

Run up the steps to the top floor of your condo, 10 times every morning, that will help you lose weight.

PS

If you are overweight, jogging is a no no.

You are likely to completely ruin your ankle and knee joints.

Jogging is for younger people who are already fit and have the muscle tone required to support their lower joints.

Edited November 30, 2013 by FiftyTwo

[Jingthing]

Thanks to anyone who is actually interested in commenting on this topic -- the technological aspects of fighting obesity, now and in future.

I see the writing on the wall. Something BIG is coming that will actually be effective in medically treating many more obese people that is less invasive than bariatric surgery. Not sure what the winning concept will be (still think gut bacteria is the most likely winner) but the need and the financial incentives are just too massive to stop this, assuming such a thing is possible scientifically, which odds are, it is.

The tired old morality lectures, endless insults, and fat shaming, we've heard a 1000 times before. Not only not interesting, but also not helpful to fat people (the opposite actually) or on topic.

Ethics and morality are issues of course. For example, if there is an effective gut bacteria therapy developed but it ends up costing 500 dollars a month to use, then there will really be some ethical questions, which obese people can get it of the ones that can't afford that money? Will it be an optional thing or seen as a medical necessity for ALL obese people or only for the morbidly obese?

Edited November 30, 2013 by Jingthing

[singa-traz]

It's amazing the extremes fat people will go to excuse their being lazy and greedy.

Your lifestyle need to change so you eat less and exercise more.

A fifteen minute walk on level ground will do nothing for your weight problem.

Run up the steps to the top floor of your condo, 10 times every morning, that will help you lose weight.

PS

If you are overweight, jogging is a no no.

You are likely to completely ruin your ankle and knee joints.

Jogging is for younger people who are already fit and have the muscle tone required to support their lower joints.

Starting with a 15 min daily walk may not have an immediate impact on the weight, but will bring the person closer to activities that will have.

Progressively, they can go for higher intensity exercices, and one day sprinting in the stairs of their condo.

BTW, what's your definition of younger people, fit and overweight?

And what alternative activities could be recommended for those who don't fit this profile? Swimming, Cycling ... ?

Personally, I'm 40++, overweight by BMI "standard" (in the middle range) and was moderately active/fit.

[FiftyTwo]

Starting with a 15 min daily walk may not have an immediate impact on the weight, but will bring the person closer to activities that will have.

Progressively, they can go for higher intensity exercices, and one day sprinting in the stairs of their condo.

BTW, what's your definition of younger people, fit and overweight?

And what alternative activities could be recommended for those who don't fit this profile? Swimming, Cycling ... ?

Personally, I'm 40++, overweight by BMI "standard" (in the middle range) and was moderately active/fit.

Younger ...... under 40. Jogging doesn't do much good for anyone over 40 (or/and overweight), yep, there are a few exceptions.

For the older and overweight, swimming, cycling, hiking with steep hills.

[h90]

It's amazing the extremes fat people will go to excuse their being lazy and greedy.

Your lifestyle need to change so you eat less and exercise more.

A fifteen minute walk on level ground will do nothing for your weight problem.

Run up the steps to the top floor of your condo, 10 times every morning, that will help you lose weight.

PS

If you are overweight, jogging is a no no.

You are likely to completely ruin your ankle and knee joints.

Jogging is for younger people who are already fit and have the muscle tone required to support their lower joints.

Starting with a 15 min daily walk may not have an immediate impact on the weight, but will bring the person closer to activities that will have.

Progressively, they can go for higher intensity exercices, and one day sprinting in the stairs of their condo.

BTW, what's your definition of younger people, fit and overweight?

And what alternative activities could be recommended for those who don't fit this profile? Swimming, Cycling ... ?

Personally, I'm 40++, overweight by BMI "standard" (in the middle range) and was moderately active/fit.

With Jogging you can get really nasty things, when you aren't used to it....I did bicycle racing when I was young and decided to go a lot jogging....I got a 5 different problems which all didn't went away for a long time...(because the muscles were good the rest not).

Swimming is sure very good (unless you get a bacteria infection from the dirty water in Pattaya), Cycling, "mountain biking" within limits, walking, body building.

Diving might not use extreme lot of energy but might be fun (if do something that is wonderful good for reducing fat but you don't like it, you'll stop it.).

[singa-traz]

Interesting. I ran over 350km for the last 4 months and only had to rest a week.

I guess it's like drinking, you should do it with moderation.

To come back on the Technology Tracking topic, I use some mobile apps to keep track of all of my sessions:

• Number of sessions
• Distance
• Pace
• Calories
• Kg
• ...

Great to see the progress made overtime.

[singa-traz]

Another cool tools/gadget on the market to measure progress:

Skulpt Aim: World's First Device to Measure Muscle Fitness with One Touch

Aim measures your body fat percentage & muscle quality in individual muscles. Exercise smarter & stay motivated with tailored workouts based on your goals.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/skulpt-aim-world-s-first-device-to-measure-muscle-fitness-with-one-touch?utm_campaign=Facebook+Fitbit+Rest+of+the+World&utm_content=Fitbit&utm_medium=facebook+ads&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=Technology

[robblok]

I have tried stuff like the fitbit and other ones. They were nice but unfortunately my metabolic rate was slower as what that thing told me it was. It was though nice to see my sleeping paterns on it (body bug). I did get a bit obsessed with it at one time. Now i stopped it as it really overestimated my burn. I unfortunately burn not too much even when real active. But things like that can give a good indication for those thinking that they are active.

If you got money to burn its a nice thing to try out and if it works for you then its good. But i doubt it works good for everyone.

[singa-traz]

I have tried stuff like the fitbit and other ones. They were nice but unfortunately my metabolic rate was slower as what that thing told me it was. It was though nice to see my sleeping paterns on it (body bug). I did get a bit obsessed with it at one time. Now i stopped it as it really overestimated my burn. I unfortunately burn not too much even when real active. But things like that can give a good indication for those thinking that they are active.

If you got money to burn its a nice thing to try out and if it works for you then its good. But i doubt it works good for everyone.

I don't use the calorie counter (In/Out). Too much effort and not much fun to track my daily intake.

However, as an activity tracker and an effective feedback mechanism, I think this is a great tools and a good investment.

If I was the only one using it, I'm not sure I would have been using it for very long, but with a couple of friends, every week is then an opportunity to nicely compete. It has "a viral" effect, which promote a more active lifestyle.

It's obviously not the silver bullet, but it nicely tilt the balance in the right direction.

[robblok]

I have tried stuff like the fitbit and other ones. They were nice but unfortunately my metabolic rate was slower as what that thing told me it was. It was though nice to see my sleeping paterns on it (body bug). I did get a bit obsessed with it at one time. Now i stopped it as it really overestimated my burn. I unfortunately burn not too much even when real active. But things like that can give a good indication for those thinking that they are active.

If you got money to burn its a nice thing to try out and if it works for you then its good. But i doubt it works good for everyone.

I don't use the calorie counter (In/Out). Too much effort and not much fun to track my daily intake.

However, as an activity tracker and an effective feedback mechanism, I think this is a great tools and a good investment.

If I was the only one using it, I'm not sure I would have been using it for very long, but with a couple of friends, every week is then an opportunity to nicely compete. It has "a viral" effect, which promote a more active lifestyle.

It's obviously not the silver bullet, but it nicely tilt the balance in the right direction.

Actually as i cook my own foods and weigh my foods i got total control. It is a habit i learned when loosing weight. So in was not that hard, it was more that the out (activity was overstated for me) I am active with working out and such but i just had a slow metabolic rate. I wish i burned what that thing said I did.

It was nice to compare days ect so its not a waste of money and it had some nice data. So you won't hear me complain too much. It was fun to use for a while until i grew bored of it. It did give me some valuable insights in my life but it also has its downsides.

As a motivator its a great tool and it really shows why we are getting fatter compared to say 40 years ago. Just walking more makes a difference, back then many more things were done manually compared to now and all those small things add up. Many still don't believe this to be true (easier to blame outside factors) then to look at home.

When i was a lot younger there was a lot more manual things to do things that are done by machines now things that took time. I think we easily replaced an hour or more per day from "work" to non "work".

So yes things like this to make people realize they need to move more is great love to see those things on a few obese people and non obese individuals and look at the difference.

Of course stuff like a chip that makes you feel full sounds great (would make it easy to loose weight) but that only highlights the fact that it is still about eating less. I also am always looking at ways to feel fuller so I experiment with foods and even supplements.

Some call it bad to say to people they are doing it at least partly (themselves) as that shames obese people but it still holds true for most.

[singa-traz]

Interesting concept: http://www.gym-pact.com/

[h90]

Interesting concept: http://www.gym-pact.com/

What is if I open 100 accounts and pretend to be super perfect, just to get the money?

And if you eat too much or exercise too less, report yourself and pay money, than you aren't only weak, you are also a fool to pay and report it even no one checks you?

It is like I drive to the police station and report that I drove 20 km/h too fast and now I want to get a ticket for it

[kurnell]

I discovered that when I loaf all day, eating huge amounts of junk food and cakes and drinking beer, wine etc I gain weight. When I eat less, reduce my drinking and walk around a lot I lose weight. Should I write a diet book?

[singa-traz]

I discovered that when I loaf all day, eating huge amounts of junk food and cakes and drinking beer, wine etc I gain weight. When I eat less, reduce my drinking and walk around a lot I lose weight. Should I write a diet book?

How about using your newly discovered knowledge to encourage/guide/influence someone in doing the same, and by that help a single person in your network (family/friends) being healthier?

And if it works, yeah, why not share your story on paper, as it could positivelly impact more people. But don't call it "diet book" ... it's actually a lifestyle change!

[kurnell]

I discovered that when I loaf all day, eating huge amounts of junk food and cakes and drinking beer, wine etc I gain weight. When I eat less, reduce my drinking and walk around a lot I lose weight. Should I write a diet book?

How about using your newly discovered knowledge to encourage/guide/influence someone in doing the same, and by that help a single person in your network (family/friends) being healthier?

And if it works, yeah, why not share your story on paper, as it could positivelly impact more people. But don't call it "diet book" ... it's actually a lifestyle change!

You think my sarcasm will help others lose weight?

[h90]

I discovered that when I loaf all day, eating huge amounts of junk food and cakes and drinking beer, wine etc I gain weight. When I eat less, reduce my drinking and walk around a lot I lose weight. Should I write a diet book?

sure! The only problem is expanding "Eat more get fatter. Eat less get slimmer" into min. 200 pages. And of course you can also sell some diet food which is made from sawdust and cheapest artificial flavor at similar price as caviar.

Of course you also need some photoshopped before/after picture. Sure someone here can sell you the photo from his belly and sure at some bodybuilding forum you can get the "after" picture so you only need to mount the same head.

That is the way this business runs.