The problem for fatties like me is that our bodies are not evolved for the modern lifestyle, and our internal feedback system does not tell us when it is appropriate to stop eating. What we need is some external feedback, other than "hey fatty, when are you going to start losing weight?"

This idea stems from the Eat Watch described by John Walker (see link). After setting your target weight, the watch helps you diet by telling you when to start and stop eating. But his hypothetical Eat Watch can only be implemented by calorie counting, recording daily weight, spreadsheet calculations, and a load of self control.

Why go to all this trouble when this system could really be implemented. The Diet Watch would require a chip to be placed under the skin on the wrist. This technology is already widely used in pet ID systems, and would be a simple procedure for a local doctor. The chip would measure blood-sugar levels, receiving it's power and communicating via an induction loop in the Diet Watch. The Watch will then collate the blood-sugar statistics. After your third bowl of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, your blood-sugar level will have been high for a sustained amount of time. The Diet Watch alarm will then indictate that you should stop eating. After enough time has elapsed, and your blood-sugar level has dropped sufficiently, the Diet Watch will indicate that you may start eating again.

Of course you could always ignore the Diet Watch, in which case you might like the enforcer chip embedded in you scrotum to deliver an electric shock.
-- oldchina, Jun 21 2005

John Walker's Eat Watch http://www.fourmila...0210000000000000000
The hypothetical eat watch [oldchina, Jun 21 2005]

Who the hell is Kate Humble? http://www.bbc.co.u...o/kate_humble.shtml
[AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jun 21 2005]

Hmmm... the trouble is that most healthy foods (low GI, low energy density) only start affecting your blood-sugar some time after you've finished eating them.

I like the idea of implanting a blood sugar monitor; useful for diabetics.
-- st3f, Jun 21 2005


Thought this was going to be another reality TV show with hyperactive presenters discussing the eating habits of the obese. A bit like Bill Oddie and Kate Humble <sigh>, but without the tits. Or badgers.
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jun 21 2005


Good point. Low GI foods affect your blood-sugar over a longer period of time. Perhaps the Diet Watch could analyse the statistics and balance could be achieved over the course of each day, and week.
-- oldchina, Jun 21 2005


poor Kate's tits.
-- po, Jun 21 2005


Yeah, [po] nasty 'pecker.
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jun 21 2005


I can see the attraction of this (if it worked, which is doubtful for the reasons posted above) as a "diet gadget" - something that makes dieting less boring or more regimented for a while.

But, in the long run, I don't see how a chip that monitors blood sugar is going to be better than just learning how much is reasonable to eat.
I'm not lecturing (I need to lose weight too and constantly fail), it's just that the fundamental problem isn't usually an inability to know how much to eat.
-- Basepair, Jun 21 2005


How about this as a strategy instead:

A watch that beeps at random intervals, then again 2 minute later. The dieter is only allowed to eat between the two beeps. This will encourage excercise as the dieter runs full speed toward the nearest refrigerator.
-- Worldgineer, Jun 21 2005


Or make the chip quite large, say about 250 pounds or so. Carrying that ought to shave off a few calories.
Actually.....what would happen if you surgically implanted plastic-encapsulated lead weights around the body? The weight alone would give you a bit of a workout, and perhaps the hypothetical 'weight watcher' deep in your reptile brain would be deceived into thinking you were fatter than you were, and would shed those pounds.
-- Basepair, Jun 21 2005


The fundamental problem is an inability for the body's built-in feedback to know how much to eat. Those chemical signals are very hard to fight against. Anything that can help that fight would be useful.

I can see that this device is flawed and will not be able to react quickly enough at meal times (what [st3f] said). But if I change the spec a bit then it could still be very useful. The Diet Watch could offer encouragement by indicating when your body is in fat-burning mode. It could chastise you for extreme sugar highs, and give you daily feedback about your eating habits.

Then maybe Kate Humble will be more interested in yir pecker.
-- oldchina, Jun 22 2005



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