The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that a staggering 69 percent of adults aged 20 years and over are either overweight or obese. It is almost unfathomable that arguably the easiest disease to prevent also stands as one of the most debilitating in our country. Despite the shift to electronic-dependent behaviors that often lead to more sedentary lifestyles, advances in wearable technology provide optimism for fighting unhealthy habits.
In an age where just about everybody holds some level of culpability as it pertains to the obesity epidemic, leaders must emerge and take responsibility to resolve the situation. With a growing number of individuals owning smartphones, tablets, and wearable products, major device-producing companies such as Apple and Google serve as ideal candidates to take on a leadership role in the fight against expanding waistlines.
In accordance with the ethical pressure to better look out for the well being of society, Apple and Google have taken a major leap forward on the path towards assuaging the problem. Fortunately, this is a case where the competition between these two rivals positively impacts society.
Apple started the initiative with its new Healthkit service. This potential game changing development allows for an amalgamation of different fitness apps to insert their information into the Apple’s new Health app. This, in turn, will track a user’s major determinants of fitness, including heart rate, calories burned, and other fitness-related metrics.
In response to Apple’s Healthkit, Google meticulously devised a health promoting creation of its own called the Google Fit. The features of this almost mimic those of Apple’s app. A system built into the next version of Android, Google Fit observes just about all of an individual’s health metrics – including sleep, steps, and other key components, providing Android users with tracking quality similar to that of Apple iOS with their HealthKit.
One of the latest forms of wearable technologies to hit the market is the smartwatch. There are several different versions with one of the most established being the Pebble. Utilizing the fitness app, Runkeeper, this smartwatch allows users to monitor the statistics of each of their runs. It offers convenience as users can simply glance at their wrist as opposed to tediously recording every activity they do on paper. Now results are quicker and easier to observe. Another watch, called MotoActv, goes above and beyond to provide an ideal atmosphere for exercising. Not only does it have the capability to track runs and connect to a chest strap for heart rate monitoring, but it also includes a smart MP3 player with enough storage for 4,000 songs.
Wristbands also exist for people who prefer less cumbersome means of fitness tracking. With a battery life of between five and seven days, the Fitbit Flex is one that is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. Though it does not have a heart rate monitor, it does, however, contain a sleep tracker, which is vital when it comes to ensuring a person has a sufficient amount of sleep to function properly, but also to determine whether it is deemed a healthy quantity.
For individuals interested in having their heart rate monitored, they would find the Basis Carbon Steel Edition useful. This comes with the full package, including trackers of perspiration, skin temperature, steps, as well as calories. It also monitors running, walking, biking, and periods of REM and light sleep.
These are just a few of the latest wearable devices and implementations of forward fitness thinking being put into the most popular mobile operating systems. Perhaps the most significant impact of the fitness tech era lies in the assistance to the medical sector. With these gadgets, individuals will be more informed of the status of their health well before they make their trip to the doctor.
When viewing pictures of damaged and discolored lungs, it doesn’t take an expert in the medical field to determine that the likely diagnosis of cancer came from smoking cigarettes or the inhalation of other harmful toxins. The injection of wearables into society provide a similar function. The careful monitoring, recording, and dissemination of the quantities produced by these wearables to medical personnel allow them to make direct connections between the quantities and potential diagnosis. For example, if a patient is experiencing problems associated with stress, discloses the information presented on the wearables to his or her doctor, and the doctor notices a pattern of omitted exercise and sleep, the catalyzing agent can immediately be identified.
Apple and Google, as well as other developers are not only reflecting their genuine interest in the well-being of the community, but they’re also competitively positioning themselves to capitalize on the new focus on health. As the obesity dilemma exacerbates, people will look for cheaper alternatives to gym memberships and exercise equipment, an ideal situation for the emergence of wearables, which only cost a one-time payment of a few hundred bucks at most. In addition to the possibility of acquiring a great deal of wealth, these companies see an opportunity for brand repositioning in the minds of consumers. If they can associate their name in a positive light by coming out with these different innovative wearables, in all likelihood the rest of their products will reap the benefits via higher demand, thus, leading to more revenue.
It is imperative that people utilize these apps as solely a foundation for their lifestyles of physical fitness. Acquiring them without a lifelong commitment to staying active would prove futile.