Since the dawn of time we human beings have differed in size and in particular the size of our bellies. How that is determined is based on your diet and lifestyle. You know the saying ‘you are what you eat’ well in reality that is true. What we eat defines the conditions of our internal/external systems. In perspective, if you eat fatty foods you will appear fat or obese; if you eat low-carb/low-fat foods you may appear skinny. We can also say the same in what you do. In fact we should also start saying ‘you are what you do’. What we do also defines the conditions of our internal/external systems. If you’re a couch potato, chances are you’re obese and your internal systems are also sitting on the couch, unresponsive and won’t be able to function to its full potential. Now if you were active, playing sports, exercising in constant intervals, well maybe you would be in a better shape than your average couch potato. More and more people are looking to eat healthier and exercise more. Since these types of lifestyles are in demand people have started inventing devices that would help promote and guide you along these strict diets. These lifestyles lead to scientific and technological developments related to internal systems.
Meet the Bodybugg calorie counter; a new health promoting, weight loss gadget. More and more people are looking to just eat healthier and exercise more. This device became popular after its debut on the reality TV series The Biggest Loser. The Bodybugg is worn on a user's arm. It has several sensors that measure calorie burn; detects the presence of sweat, and a thermometer detects skin temperature, which keeps people's eating habits level with their movement. It uses this feedback to estimate how many calories are burned. The Bodybugg connects to the computer via a USB cable.The bodybugg is intended to be used with a subscription website where the user can log their food and track their calories. Several fitness centres and gyms have used the Bodybugg to help their clients get on the right track to a good and healthy lifestyle.
BioTrainer is also another device that reads caloric burn for different activities outside of the clinical setting. It senses your motion. It's a three-way accelerometer (the same technology in Nintendo's Wii), but doesn't include any of the skin or sweat measurements, but it has the same concept as the Bodybugg.
Jump training is a way to improve cardiovascular fitness. Meet another well-fitness device, the Caloriejump CJ688. Skipping and jumping conditions upper and lower body by toning and strengthening muscles, burning calories and developing co-ordination, speed, balance and flexibility. It also raises endurance levels. The Caloriejump CJ688 skipping rope includes a built-in counter that displays the number of jumps up to 9,999 (front, backwards or criss-crossed jumps) and it calculates the number of calories burnt during the exercises while taking into account your body weight.
Another form of technology that has emerged from the demand of a healthy lifestyle is laser-assisted liposuction. It is said that losing all that weight at once is unhealthy but it’s a technological development nonetheless. Normal liposuction works through invasive measures in which a tube is inserted into the body from which fat is vacuumed out through hollow tubes. This leads to tissue trauma and there is much bruising and pain that makes the procedure uncomfortable for the patient. In laser assisted liposuction fat is first melted and then removed. During the laser assisted liposuction process heat as well as light from the laser beams help to melt or dissolve fat cells and at the same time cauterize blood vessels and tissues which then helps to minimize bleeding, swelling and bruising.
The demands for more healthy lifestyles have lead us to scientific and technological developments. Without the need to be fit and to eat well, these technologies may have not been discovered or developed. Devices such as the Bodybugg and BodyTrainer, which count calorie intake, may have been unheard of a few decades ago.
Works Cited
"Bodybugg -." ProductWiki Unbiased Product Reviews. Web. 02 Mar. 2010. http://www.productwiki.com/bodybugg/.
"CJ-688 HealthyJump™ Jump Rope." Tanita: Digital Scales for Body Fat & Weight, Bathroom, Kitchen & Food Scales for Precision Weight Measurement. Web. 02 Mar. 2010. http://www.tanita.com/en/cj688/.
"Liposuction More about Laser-assisted Liposuction." Cosmetic Surgery and Plastic Surgery Your Guide to Common Cosmetic Surgery Procedures and Plastic Surgey Measures. Web. 02 Mar. 2010. http://www.surgerywatch.com/New-Laser-Technology-cuts-out-the-fat-without-Surgery.php.
"Simple Ways to Live a Healthy Lifestyle." Exercise - Get Weight Loss Advice, Cardio and Strength Training Workouts, Information on How to Get Started and More. Web. 02 Mar. 2010. http://exercise.about.com/od/healthinjuries/a/healthylifestyl.htm.
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The first thought in my mind was how smart the people who make these machines are. They're are banking in on our demand to be fit and lose weight!
ReplyDeleteReally, people could just go out and kick a ball around or shoot some hoops with friends.
It's sad that people rely on liposuction and expensive equipment, that can take our temperatures and detect sweat...I think we know when we sweat.
Anyways, the argument behind your blog is true. Whatever society wants, society gets. When everyone decided to go environmentally friendly, companies started to make things with less packaging and recyled material.
We might have got what we wanted by the inventions of these machines, but it kind of seems like we get cheated, because they're the real ones who get the real profit.
That's enough ranting on that.
Great blog!
It is true that currently, ways of becoming healthy are becoming more and more popular, mainly due to the media. TC shows, like in your example, the Biggest Loser, showcases overweight individuals. These individuals, then, undergo extreme exercise programs to lose weight.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your statements, "You are what you eat" and "You are what you do." This is very true because, even if we deny it or not, eating unhealthy foods will make us unhealthy. Whereas, eating healthy foods and staying fit will make our bodies stronger and less prone to diseases, so in short, we live longer.
lasers are awesome never thought people could actually "zap" fat away... who would've thought loosing fat could be so dangerous but there sure is a lot of ways to loose it. The biotrainer is the best machine since its like the wii but i still don't like the wii, anyways thats for the info on the weight loss methods and how harmful they can be, now i won't use them
ReplyDeleteAs you have said, humans has always strives for perfection, especially in looks. Especially girls as they always want to look like models from magazines. Even the models doesn't look like that in real life. They starve themselves just to look like what they're "suppose" to look like. A laser melt away fat, that's so amazing. This is so much better than dieting. From what I read about dieting, as you diet, body will return to normal weight, and after every diet session. The more you diet, the faster the body return to normal. This stress the body greatly. At least this laser surgery won't stress the body as much as diet.
ReplyDeleteHey Timothy, First off I thought that your little metaphor about "you are what you do" was very insightful because it lets me clearly visualize that it really is "you are what you do" out there. Also, that jump rope technology is pretty cool. I'm sure a lot of people who love to jump rope will be buying a lot of those. I know I would. Finally, the idea of actually burning off fat physically would seem kind of scary for me and but getting rid of fat cells is vital in order to not gain back the weight so that is pretty impressive. I don't know if I would use that technology if I ever needed to use it, I would definitely be hesistant. Well great blog Timothy.
ReplyDelete