Results of Two New Clinical Studies Show Promise of Emerging Mobile Health Technology to Combat Obesity Epidemic

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- As obesity rates and the cost of healthcare continue to be on the rise, the 2010 mHealth Summit in Washington D.C. is bringing together industry thought leaders, researchers, and policy makers to discuss the opportunities to address pressing public health issues utilizing mobile health technology.  

BodyMedia Inc., the pioneer in developing wearable body monitoring systems, recently announced the findings from two clinical studies that yielded promising results showcasing body monitoring devices' integral role in the current public health dialogue.  

The first study, published this month in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise Journal, revealed results from one of the first studies to validate the accuracy of the BodyMedia Armband technology in real-world conditions.  The study, conducted by Dr. Greg Welk, of Iowa State University and researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, showed that BodyMedia Armband monitors were more than 90% accurate in measuring calorie expenditure in adults compared to doubly-labeled water over the course of 14 days. The promising results reinforce that BodyMedia provides a solution to the need for accurate devices to measure daily energy expenditure in a real-world setting.

On top of the finding that BodyMedia's products are accurate and suitable for real-world situations, the 9 month results from a study conducted by Dr. Steven Blair of the Arnold School of Public Health at USC were presented at the Convergence & Society Meeting at University of South Carolina and showed the success of adding the BodyMedia Armband technology to promote weight loss in overweight and obese adults.

The nine month clinical study by Blair which included 197 participants showed that combining a lifestyle intervention program and a body monitoring device tripled their weight loss.  Participants in the study who were attending the face-to-face group intervention program plus using the BodyMedia technology lost an average of 14 pounds, which is more than 3X those in the group intervention or control group.

The BodyMedia FIT system includes a wearable Armband and allows users to track their calorie burn, physical activity, steps taken, sleep efficiency and calorie intake to make informed decisions based on their body's information to help them lose weight and stay fit.  The system also includes an optional Display that gives wearers real-time feedback on their calorie burn, steps, and physical activity levels.  On October 28th, the company launched mobile apps that allow on-the-go food logging.  On November 15th BodyMedia will introduce an armband enabled with Bluetooth® wireless technology that will allow near real time read outs of calorie information on a smartphone.

"BodyMedia is pleased to be participating in the dialogue this week at the mHealth Summit and we are excited to share the results of these important public health findings in conjunction with this critical meeting of mobile health experts," said Christine Robins, Chief Executive Officer of BodyMedia. "These studies not only build on a growing body of clinical data that shows BodyMedia Armbands are an accurate way to measure energy balance, but are also successful tools for weight loss, and solidify their importance in addressing important public health concerns like obesity."

Johannsen DL, Calabro MA, Stewart J, Franke W, Rood JC, Welk GJ.  Accuracy of armband monitors for measuring daily energy expenditure in healthy adults.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010. Nov;42(11):2134-40.

Barry V, Shuger S, Sui X, Meriwether R, Hand G, Dowda M, Blair S. "Electronic feedback in a diet- and physical activity-based lifestyle intervention for weight loss: randomized control trial." Abstract presented at the Convergence and Society: Science, Health, and New Dimensions of Communication Meeting. October 11-12, 2010.  Columbia, South Carolina, USA.

About BodyMedia, Inc.

Founded in 1999, BodyMedia, Inc. is the pioneer in developing wearable body monitoring systems designed to help people lose weight, improve performance, and lead healthier lives.  Our patented multi-sensor technology monitors calorie expenditure, amount of physical activity, number of steps taken, and sleep efficiency. Our online Activity Manager allows users to analyze this information and log food.  No other body-monitoring product can measure physical activity and calories burned with BodyMedia's greater-than-90% accuracy. For more information, visit www.bodymedia.com.

SOURCE BodyMedia, Inc.