On the new season of The Biggest Loser, BodyMedia is poised to be a big winner. NBC is reintroducing the BodyMediaFIT armband for tracking the fitness progress of contestants.
Christine Robins, the CEO of BodyMedia, says that their product is different than others on the market because it is physiology-based, rather than motion-based, streaming 5,000 data points per minute while someone is wearing the technology.
Kerry O’Donnell, the director of licensing for NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group, saw the difference when they tried another product; “We transitioned briefly to another product in the hopes of getting mass retail distribution, but quickly learned that the prior technology [BodyMedia’s technology white-labeled as Bodybugg] was much more effective and preferred by trainers on the show.”
Recognizing that the alternate system did not work as well as BodyMedia’s, NBC approached the company again, making a clear statement that theirs was a superior product.
The system features a body monitoring calorie calculator, automatic tracking of activity levels and calories burned, and on online activity manager for tracking such data as calories consumed and burned, sleep quality, and diet. A wearable health tracker goes far beyond apps for calorie counting, pedometers, journaling and other traditional methods of recording fitness goals.
In a recent article, Jonah Comstock of Mobile Health News wondered if the role that the trackers play on The Biggest Loser will take the adoption of the trackers mainstream, instead of being reserved for just tech enthusiasts and fitness nuts.
The benefits for contestants on The Biggest Loser and people who are trying to reach fitness goals at home are clear. At an average retail price of $120-180, it doesn’t come cheap, but it makes accurate record-keeping easier and offers real insight into whether or not one is truly burning more calories than one is taking in.
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Miami 2013, Jan 29- Feb. 1 in Miami, Florida. Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.
