To stop women from reaching for the cookie jar, Microsoft‘s latest prototype bra predicts when the wearer is going to comfort eat and warns against it.
The software company’s high-tech undergarment features sensors in the cup pockets and side panels that detect the changes in heart rate, stress levels and skin temperature, which are some of the causes of overeating. The recorded data is then streamed via Bluetooth to a smartphone app, providing real-time ‘mood-triggered eating’ alerts.
Lead researcher and cognitive psychologist, Mary Czerwinski, says the garment will make people more aware of their ‘maladaptive behaviors’, so they can replace them with ‘adaptive ones.’
In her paper, Food and Mood: Just-in-Time Support for Emotional Eating, she writes. “The rationale for the criticality of monitoring is that it helps patients to be more aware of what is happening in the moment.”
“[That way] they can begin to make changes to behaviour that may have seemed automatic or beyond their control.”
The revolutionary bra was recently tested by four volunteers over a four-day period. Czerwinski also mentioned that it was a very tedious process for the participants as the batteries had to be recharged every three to four hours. Having said that, she was very pleased with the results.
She wrote, “Our pilot results have been quite promising . . .Using log files, we were able to detect arousal at 75.00per cent and [emotions] at 72.62per cent.”
To help men with ensuing snack attacks, Microsoft is now experimenting with ‘sensor bracelets’.
Finally! We believe that this bra would contribute to curbing obesity amongst females. We’re not sure when it would be available for sale but we’re convinced that it will help us shed a few pounds! Let’s wait to find out how much it would cost.
