The Healing Power of Awareness

I recently acquired a Garmin VivoFit. I have no specific health risks, but I felt as a healthcare executive I should be practicing what I preach.  I managed to dodge the first “FitBit Movement” — but have now jumped in, both feet first. By the way, this may also be a good time to admit that I am in my 50’s… Oh, and I just might be a few pounds overweight.

So I am now four weeks into my first fitness band experience, and bottom-line is that: it actually works.  It really is that simple: I strapped this device on my wrist which (annoyingly) reminds me of how active I am, how active I should be, and whether I am getting enough sleep.  I am exercising more, I am getting more sleep, and I am dropping a full pound a week! So let’s spend a few minutes exploring how something so inexpensive and so simple can be so effective.

Since the beginning of time, lack of awareness has been a first order factor in managing health and well-being.  For example, at the turn of the century typhoid fever struck approximately 100 people out of 100,000 in the US. When it was discovered that typhoid was propagated by unsanitary water,  municipalities undertook measures to begin sanitizing drinking water through chlorination.  By 1920, the rate of infection had fallen to less than 34 people out of 100,000; by 2006, the rate was less than 0.1 cases out of 100,000 people (and 75% of those occurred among international travelers). The point is without an awareness of the source of the infection, it was impossible to solve this serious health problem. And conversely, mere awareness provided the clues which led to a simple solution.  (click here for the raw CDC data).

As it turns out, my VivoFit is teaching me that my activity and weight management shortcomings are largely the result of my lack of awareness. I certainly didn’t expect to lose a pound per week, however my VivoFit (coupled with the easily integrated MyFitnessPal app) has made me much more aware of the duration of my sedentary periods, the additional calories I have been consuming through unneeded snacks, and my general level of activity. Keep in mind that I am not on a diet, I am not going to the gym, and we aren’t talking about quantum shifts in behavior here. Just natural, subtle changes in intake and activity, driven entirely by awareness.

In the future, I predict our level of health awareness will be significantly enhanced, far beyond simple motion and activity. Soon we will be able to track changes in our blood chemistry, critical heart activity (e.g. AliveCor, which offers an EKG in a cell phone case for $60 today!), respiration, and pulse oximetry, all non-invasively and in real-time. We are just beginning to scratch the surface in terms of the power of awareness, in catalyzing each of us to live healthier, higher-quality lives.

I’ll let you know how my fitness tracking ends up in the long run, but in the meantime I am encouraged. And even more motivated to pursue my professional passion of helping to keep people healthy through smarter technology, friendly user experience, and improved awareness!

Let me know what you think…

((check out our personal website here: curd.net)