LOL
December 6, 2001
FITNESS
Big, Blue and Out of Breath: I.B.M. Kiosks Check for Fat
By BRUCE HEADLAM
few years ago, an I.B.M. computer defeated Garry Kasparov at chess. Now a new I.B.M. machine wants to size up some opponents for old- fashioned arm wrestling.
I.B.M. is making a computerized kiosk that will be placed in schools to help measure students' fitness levels. The students can weigh themselves on a platform and then place both hands on a device, made by a company called Stayhealthy, that emits a tiny electrical current to measure the percentage of body fat and lean tissue. The information is stored on a server in the school.
I.B.M. plans to have kiosks in 10 to 15 schools by January and in 150 by the end of 2002. The company hopes to connect future models to the Web, allowing the students to have remote access to their information and administrators to look at compiled statistics for their schools.
Of course, standing in front of a kiosk won't make you fit any more than standing in front of a bank machine will make you rich. I.B.M. is building the kiosks under contract to the National School Fitness Foundation, a nonprofit group that donates gym equipment to schools. The organization wants to put the kiosks in schools as a form of positive feedback for students using their equipment. (The total cost of the equipment and kiosk is about $200,000 per school.)
For many students, weight and body fat are dangerous obsessions, so teachers using the equipment must undergo instruction and monitoring by the foundation, said Cameron Lewis, president of the fitness foundation. |
