Technology for Better Health

Using technology for better health almost seems counter-intuitive. I associate health with physical fitness and technology with sitting in front of a computer screen, which frankly, isn't doing my butt any favors.


However, as this week's 2.1 lesson shows, healthy living and cutting edge technology needn't be mutually exclusive. I discovered this last year when I quit smoking. I signed up for a service that sent me emails that asked if I had smoked, included supportive messages, and provided a tracker that told me how much money I was saving. The daily emails kept me feeling accountable and provided much needed encouragement.


The google map pedometer service was probably my favorite resource of the week. I discovered that it is a 1.5 mile walk around the trek I favor in my neighborhood.


The nutritional data site was pretty cool; I liked the colorful graphs. But it didn't recognize my lunch (Amy's frozen foods Palak Paneer) and seemed geared toward fast food meals.



The Wii video made it seem fun, but I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, the Wii seems like a great tool to keep things interesting and get a fun workout in the comfort of your own home. That's especially good considering that here in central Florida, the heat and humidity mean that I spend my summer rushing from one air conditioned-enclosed space to another. But on the other hand, it makes me wonder, Have we become so disconnected from nature and real life that pretending to engage in activities on top of a motion sensitive board has replaced the actual activities themselves? Virtual tennis may be good if you don't have a partner or access to a court, but wouldn't it be better to just play some real live tennis? Virtual realities should be enhancements of, not replacements for, reality realities.

2.1

I'm excited about 2.1 and confident that this year I will have time to follow along. I think the every-two-weeks format will help a lot. And despite dropping out of blogging early last time around, I learned a lot from 2.0 and now I'm ready to learn more.