It’s called the “Bodybugg” and here is how it works.

You strap it to your arm and it measures and records your temperature, galvanic-skin-response, and movement. It’s kind of like a pedometer but it measures more parameters than just steps.

You upload the recorded data to a website and enter what you’ve eaten during the day and the online system calculates if you ate more or less calories than your body used. Or you can just enter your weight and the system will calculate — on a weekly basis — what your average calorie consumption was. If you gained weight, the system will assume you ate more calories than your body used and vice versa.

The BodyBugg costs about $400 plus a monthly fee to access the online system.

I’m sorry, but the concept behind this contraption is hugely flawed. It’s very possible people lose some weight using this device (just as they do using almost any weight-loss method, whether it’s a diet, a pill, or some contraption). The challenge isn’t losing weight — that’s the easy part. The difficulty comes in maintaining a healthy weight while living a normal life.

What do you think? Would anyone wear a contraption like this for the rest of their life and enter everything they ate into a computer on a daily basis? Absolutely not!

The only approach to weight loss that makes any sense is one where you end up living a life where eating plays the normal, healthy role it’s meant to play.

Allen Oelschlaeger
Author of Finally, the Straight Scoop About Weight, Nutrition, and Fitness

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