UPDATED March 30, 2005 If the human body can be regarded as a machine, the motor would be the heart. Given the mission-critical nature of the human body, and the expense and inconvenience of down-time, the latest offering from Polar Electro is worth a look - it's a weight and health management system based around a wrist receiver, a transmitter belt and ongoing access to an interactive website.The only solution for permanently successful weight management is to take in less energy than you expend and Polar Electro's new personalised guidance system looks to be the most logical development in an industry renowned for reducing intake but doing little about output.
Using a wrist receiver and transmitter belt, the system is designed for tracking daily calorie intake (energy in) and physical activity (energy out), then finding and maintaining the right balance over time to achieve weight targets. An individual program is created from the user's personal information and it guides the user with information on how much energy to expend through exercise and how many calories to consume in order to achieve their target weight. The program helps to plan gradual weight loss by recommending a target weight and program duration.
It takes into account current weight, height, sex and age, the current and desired daily activity levels and gives targets for daily nutrition and weekly energy expenditure. The daily nutritional intake can be monitored through the diary feature of the receiver. After each meal, the calories consumed are entered into the receiver and the program to take them into account when calculating progress.
The program is obviously only for self starters but appears comprehensive with detailed nutritional information, a Weight Management guide book and access to the Polar Personal Trainer website where an interactive web based environment has been created which includes an extensive calorie counter and a menu planner, all designed to create a healthy and varied diet.When you wear your transmitter during an exercise session, the receiver automatically calculates the number of calories you have burned.
The Weight Management products incorporate heart rate monitoring, which guides you to find the most efficient and safe level of exercise for each session.The weekly follow up function automatically reviews your progress and adjusts your target based on your achievements so far.
After reaching a goal, the Polar Weight Management Program will ask you to accept a new one, or it will deliver recommendations for sustained weight management.Two different systems are available; WM2 and WM4 and both have men's and women's models.The WM2 models W21 and W22 are the entry-level models which feature the Weight Management Program and Weight diary and the OwnCal feature, which counts the calories burned during each session and sell for AUD$299.
The WM4 models, WM41 and WM42 offer more advanced functions, including an electronic diary in the wrist receiver, which tracks weight loss status, calories burned during exercise and calorie intake. The WM4 models also feature OwnZone, which takes into consideration your daily physical condition and guides you to a level that is safe and efficient. OwnZone defines your target heart rate zone during a warm up period of an exercise session, and then sounds a warning signal every time you exceed your hear rate limit.
Both WM4 models sell for AUD$399.Stay tuned on this product - we've chosen a suitably obese individual from within our ranks to run through this program and monitor the results and over the next few months we'll be reporting on his progress.: )
