Welcome to the year of the dragon.  Everybody was busy during the holidays – decorating, buying gifts, shopping, traveling, cooking, and attending parties.  It was a nice reprieve before new year’s guilt sets in, as we often find ourselves resolving to eat healthy, quit smoking and really focus on our health.

One of the top 10 New Year’s Resolution for 2012 is to lose weight and stay fit.  Well, this is not new to us.  In fact, I myself has been making the same resolution each year.  But the real challenge here is not just identifying what we want.  It’s all about getting it started and being able to sustain it.  So, how are we going to lose weight and stay fit?

Connected health

Luckily, we are now in a connected world where almost all things are possible.  Last year, we witnessed the launching of futuristic devices aiming to make our health better, such as Bionic Contact Lenses and other health tracking devices.   This year, we are going to experience devices that will help us keep track of lost or gained calories.  This information is very useful if we want to stay fit and healthy, or lose weight in particular.  Because of lack of knowledge, each year has become a burden to most of people with weight problems.

“Most people don’t know how many calories they burn a day,” John Jakicic said, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh and a researcher in the field of exercise and long-term weight control. “They have no clue.”

There are already several products available in the market that will help people manage their weight.  Some common product are Striiv, Fitbit Ultra Wireless Activity Tracker,  Bodymedia Fit Link, and Motorola’s Motoactv.

Striiv

Striiv is a fitness gadget that enables users to track their minutes of activity such as steps, stairs, calories, and distance.   This cute and handy gadget costs around $100 and is already available in strores.

Fitbit Ultra

Another device that we will surely benefit from is the Fitbit Ultra. It helps the user easily monitor his/her heart’s activity by showing the exact number of steps taken, calories burned as well as the distance travelled, amount and quality of sleep  through its super sensitive 3D motion sensor.  This wireless activity tracker is capable of transmitting data within 15 feet of a Fitbit base connected to a computer.  Fitbit Ultra costs around $100.

Bodymedia Fit Link

This device is an armband measures heat, moisture and movement to describe the picture of activity.  Just like other devices, this armband is good also in recognizing exercise especially walking and running.  To log the results, the device must be plugged into a computer.  This costs around $200 plus $7 monthly subscription.

Motoactv

Costing around $250 for an 8GB Motoactv or $300 for a 16GB Motoactv, this small touch-sensitive device is said to be the most sophisticated with a built in GPS receiver.  Aside from this, it also has the ability to connect to a heart monitor to record and track a wider range of physical activities.

Get healthy apps 

Aside from these devices, there are now mobile apps that will help address the growing problem in weight management.  Early this month, MobileHealthNews launched its latest paid research report, the mObesity: How Mobile Tools Could Help Prevent Obesity Through Weight Management Apps and Connected Fitness Devices.

In this generation wherein technology has played a very significant role, people are now very career oriented.  However, people must also keep in mind that without good health, the importance and capabilities of technology will be few.  Now, technology itself is making its way to keep its consumers and masters able to live a healthy and happy life.  Take advantage of it!