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Body Media takes fitness to a new high-tech level
Some of the top health experts in the country help contestants on "The Biggest Loser" take off an incredible amount of weight. They also use some cutting edge technology.
And while not everyone has access to pro trainers and nutritionists, an affordable gadget has helped previous contestants and dieters nationwide lose weight. Jennifer Abney has more. Chas Cwenar is getting in his morning exercise at the "Y" and since every minute counts he wants to make sure he is getting the most out of his workout. The secret to his success? A small light weight armband. "It collects information about what I am doing. It'll keep count of the calories that I am burning through the day it will calculate that. It will go over the intensity of the exercise that I am doing," said Cwenar. Chas wears the body media band about 23 hours a day. "This shows that you do sleep in patterns. You go in the deep sleep and during that time, it will let you know you slept for 56 minutes here, you were awake for three minutes," Cwenwar said. The technology was developed by four scientists and designers who met at Carnegie Mellon. They had a vision. "Products people would wear 24/7 not just the hour every week they are in the gym to something that would be consumer friendly and like an iPod, but instead about being about music data, it would be about your data. This was a snapshot of yesterday," said Body Media co-founder John Stivoric. They wanted people to learn more about their own health, so they created a computer program that tracks and tells people what they need to do, or stop doing, to get to a healthier lifestyle. "To get the info off of this device, pop it out of the strap you have been wearing, take a USB cable, plug it in and it automatically transfers the data on to one of our web apps and you see a dashboard like this," Stivoric said. Reporter: "So this keeps track of data? I could even go back a year?" "That's correct," said Stivoric. And if you are a fan of NBC's Biggest Loser the armband might look familiar since the contestants wore them. "The biggest reward for us when you see them at the end of the show and they go from having type 2 diabetes and on all these medications and cardiac concerns and losing the weight to a clean bill of health," said Stivoric. And with 12 lbs down himself, Chas says Body Media is helping him get a better understanding of his body. "Anything that helps keep you fit is a good thing," Cwenar said. The different models of the armband range from $99 to $199. |
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