Body Bug Biggest Loser: Last night I’m watching the first episode of season seven of The Biggest Loser and Bob starts talking about the body bug. Well it’s actually bodybugg and it comes from a company called Apex fitness (which is a division of 24 hour fitness which is featured all over the show – what a coincidence). When I saw it I thought, “Hey that’s a GoWear arm bands.” I almost wondered if they are the same product with a different name. Then in an article in Business Week Online (march 2005) you see where the system is created by the Body Media company, and distributed through Apex (so they are basically the same – I think).
What the bodybugg does is it has multiple sensors to accurately determine how many calories you burn in a day. BodyBugg measures heat flux – or the temperature the body’s emitting – then it measures water temperature to compare to the user’s body temperature. When you’re working up a sweat, BodyBugg measures galvanic skin response, or the way the pores open up to sweat. Finally, it has a two-axis accelerometer that measures movement. So if you burn 1500 calories a day, but you are still Gaining weight you either need to eat less than 1500 calories a day, or exercise more.
It does work as a pedometer, so you can track your distance. It does not function as a heart rate monitor (so if you are exercising you have not idea if you are in the aerobic zone or not). The kicker is the price. You’re going to spend $ 200 for the arm band and the display at amazon.com (when they are in stock). You will pay $ 348 for the arm band, the display and a 6 month subscription to the site at Apex. Subscription? Yep, you connect it to your computer login to a website to chart your progress. Apex with charging $ 14.95 a month (if you buy more months it’s less expensive), and GoWear charging $ 9.95 a month.
While these units can be worn 24 / 7, why not just get a decent heart rate monitor and log your food and fitness in a fitness software package and skip the monthly fee?
