R U 2 lazy?

You know that little voice in your head? The one that nags you to go to the gym after spending a sedentary weekend watching the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” marathon on TV?

USC researchers are trying to convert that voice into a series of text messages that could motivate obese teens to get active and lose weight.

The team has devised a wireless body area network that includes an accelerometer, a heart rate monitor, a GPS device and a sensor that measures the electrical conductivity of skin. All the data is relayed to a Nokia phone, which then transmits it to a secure server.

The device will become so attuned to its wearer that the researchers have dubbed this the KNOWME Networks study, said Donna Spruijt-Metz of the Keck School of Medicine, who described the project last week at the Childhood Obesity Conference in Los Angeles.

“We’ll train the sensors to guess pretty well what you’re doing,” she said.

And if they conclude that you’ve been parked on the couch too long on a sunny afternoon, the network won’t hesitate to let you know.

“We’d like to be able to ping you and say, ‘You’ve been inactive for six hours, and your friend Courtney is three miles away and running – there’s an activity possibility for you,’ ” said Spruijt-Metz, an associate professor in preventive medicine.

The device can tell whether the wearer is walking, running or engaging in another form of physical activity. But there are some exceptions. The current model isn’t waterproof, so swimming doesn't count. The accelerometers also have troubling sensing when the wearer is peddling a bicycle. Team members from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering are working out those kinks, Spruijt-Metz said.

The researchers hope to strap the belts on to about two dozen high school students by the end of the year, with the ultimate goal of tracking – and nagging – 50 obese teens for a week. The study is being funded by a $1-million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

-- Karen Kaplan

Photo: The current version of the KNOWME Networks sensor, worn by a USC undergrad. Credit: Donna Spruijt-Metz

Comments

[Levi Terpstra]

I'm not a particularly fit teenager but i do believe that this would benefit many in the long run,...hopefully we can see this really excel in the future to prevent many more health issues.

[Chris]

So it's a lo-jack for you gut that sends you nagging text messages to remind you how fat and lazy you are? This is the stupidest invention I've ever seen.

[Vladislav]

I am a Russian teenager in America, a bilingual, fit teenager. I don't see why when I am out on my skateboard at day, the kids are either a) inside on a sunny day or b) loading up on delicious frozen goods!! Staying healthful and lively is FUN. Kids in Russia in my hometown are grateful for nice weather... snowfree, enjoyable weather, which we rarely get. I say power to USC. I am a lean kid who thinks obesity shouldstop. We should show these kids what will happen when they get too fat to get out of bed a live in an obesity home. Why don't you capitalists SCARE the obesity out of them??