

GoBe calorie counter wearable put to the test - callum85
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30681002

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stcredzero
First off, when it comes to calorie counting, all people really need is a
_relative measure in the same order of magnitude_. You don't have to care
about the exact number of calories you're consuming to 3 significant digits.
Really, it just suffices to know if you've changed relative to some baseline
with just _a bit more_ accuracy than one significant digit.

Also, as I've said before, what this sort of "stretching" in mobile apps is
telling us, is that we need more sensors. We've done pretty well with getting
the full potential of accelerometer, touch screen, and GPS. Of course, we
could do better with more data. I would love to have the ability to directly
measure the onset of stage 4 sleep, as in the old Zeo sleep monitor. I am
borderline to Narcolepsy, which means that I get very little stage 4 sleep
compared to the average person. (As shown in my sleep studies and was well
corroborated by the Zeo.)

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jimrandomh
The author of this article is very gullible. Here's how the scam works. George
Mikaberydze estimated how many calories were in the thing he was eating, and
covertly passed this information to an accomplice. The accomplice gave that
information to a server, making it appear on the device.

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jblow
Yeah. Requirement #1 for any test like this is, it happens in a Faraday cage.

~~~
ars
He could input it himself. It wouldn't take much, just some motion on the
wrist to input.

But they are actually shipping the product! Such a scam would not last long.
Usually scamers avoid ever actually shipping.

~~~
jimrandomh
> But they are actually shipping the product! Such a scam would not last long.

I agree that the scam will not last long.

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Someone1234
I have to admit, I am sceptical myself.

I am familiar with using bioimpedance, and in particular it has been used to
guestimate someone's % of bodyfat since forever. I am also aware that it is
highly inaccurate doing so [0].

So someone taking an already inaccurate technology and claiming that they're
using it at the cellular level (and by extension claiming that eating changes
every cell in your body) is going to make me sceptical.

The BBC's test helps a little, but the fact the BBC weren't able to use their
own person, test over a longer period, or even gather the results themselves
means it has less legitimacy. Cheating isn't impossible given the scenario
(*although I have absolutely no evidence they did so)...

Honestly I hope this technology is legitimate. It would be really incredible
(particularly has it requires no new/special hardware, just a software
update). However until they're able to fund even a single independent study,
even a relatively small one, I am going to stay well away (and consider it
snake-oily).

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioelectrical_impedance_analys...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioelectrical_impedance_analysis#Accuracy)

edit: Random thought: The article claimed the device slowly counted up for
over 2 hours, then the person had to leave immediately after it hit its goal.
Couldn't they have just programmed it to simply add approx. 40 calories every
10 minutes until the magic number was "found" then leave before it shot past
that figure? Did it actually settle at the 510 ish figure or did they just end
it at that point? The article is unclear.

~~~
jfoutz
My reading was, they scheduled 2.5 hours, and he left at that point. So, maybe
it did shoot past at the 3 hour mark (or not). Perhaps not lilly white
honesty, but it seemed reasonable to me.

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slingerofwheat
For people thinking that this is awesome, the device has received considerable
criticism as being total "bullshit".

PandoDaily ran several articles[1][2] about how the device claims to do the
impossible - specifically, "caloric intake" and probably "stress level".

Personally, I do think the device is snake-oil and it's better to get a Basis
or a Fitbit.

[1] [http://pando.com/2014/03/31/as-more-experts-dispute-gobes-
bu...](http://pando.com/2014/03/31/as-more-experts-dispute-gobes-bullshit-
medical-claims-indiegogo-still-refuses-to-pull-its-near-1m-campaign/) [2]
[http://pando.com/2014/07/03/weird-after-admitting-to-
pando-i...](http://pando.com/2014/07/03/weird-after-admitting-to-pando-its-
gobe-doesnt-really-work-healbe-wins-an-actual-prize/)

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andrenotgiant
"Carbs from the meal convert to glucose, and the glucose goes to the cells.
When glucose goes into the cells, water goes out - that means the water
balance changes. The bioimpedance sensor used measures this water flow, in and
out."

How can this account for water differences produced from drinking water?

~~~
stcredzero
Maybe it can't. However, I'm not sure it really makes all that much
difference. I really doubt most people need even two significant digits of
precision to monitor their diets. It would be enough to take a baseline and
note changes to about one part in 15. However, one can't market that degree of
precision. The American public naively demands unreasonable levels of
precision as a proxy for quality. I wouldn't be surprised if such
considerations have influenced GoBe marketing.

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mantenpanther
The measurement seems to be strongly tied to glucose and hydration. I'd be
interested in results after eating low-carb meals (e.g. nuts or steak) or in a
state where glycogen stores are depleted (after exercise, fasting).

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emptybits
The device and its software are based on assumptions. Fair enough. It makes
for convenient measurement _if_ it works.

Does anyone know if some of the more radical/fringe diets might break the
assumptions of such an approach? For example, the intermittent fasting and
keto diets come to mind because they claim to put the body into a state
whereby fats are burned "first" or in a manner not normally achieved with
"normal" modes of eating.

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lingben
That is considered a "test" for such extraordinary claims? LoL seriously?
wow... there really is no min. requirement for jounalism.

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bretkoppel
So < 10% discrepancy and they didn't wait for it to fully finish registering?
Given that and the fact that calorie labels are presumably not precise(e.g.,
every Snickers isn't exactly the same), this seems pretty exciting. I've been
trying not to get too excited about this device because of all of the negative
press, but this is very promising.

