You wake up, step on to the bathroom scales, only to be told that as well as eating and drinking too much over the festive period, your life may now be a little shorter.
A “smart scale” claims it will deliver a “longevity score” based on 60 biomarkers in your body. Body Scan 2, from the French health tech company Withings, claims to be the first scale that will alert you to the risk of hypertension as well as the efficiency of your heart pumping. It was launched at the CES tech show in Las Vegas.
The scales have eight electrodes on the main device and four in a retractable handle
Louise de Vazelhes, the product marketing manager at Withings, said: “We are not going to replace the blood pressure monitor. However, if you don’t know you’re suffering from hypertension we act as a guardian angel.”
As well as assessing the effectiveness of heart pumping, the device performs an ECG to analyse heart rhythm and detect conditions such as atrial fibrillation.
It claims to assess cellular age and provides a breakdown of muscle and fat distribution, especially visceral fat around the organs of the abdomen. This is then fed into a smartphone app that maps it against other people of a similar age and BMI to give you a health score for both short and long-term health.
While it does give a heart age, de Vazelhes says it doesn’t give a “bulls***” overall longevity age. She added: “It’s designed for anyone who wants to proactively take care of their health. It is specifically important for people who are more at risk of developing a chronic disease because it gives a voice to your body and it uncovers the silent shifts in your body. It will be interesting for anyone who is more than 40 years old, although it’s not reserved for them. It is particularly relevant for people that are undergoing shifts in their health but it’s also important for, for example, an athlete that has a specific goal or challenge.”
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The scales have eight electrodes on the main device and four in a retractable handle that when gripped gives a readout on blood oxygen levels. There is a screen and controls in the handle enabling the user to answer lifestyle questions.
The device is pending clearance from regulators for selected metrics and will be released in the second quarter of this year, priced at £449.95.
Dr Thomas Platzer, a medic who sits on the advisory board of the German Society of Prevention and Anti-Ageing Medicine, said: “The strongest predictors of long-term health decline appear years before symptoms. Measuring cardiac function, arterial stiffness, cellular vitality and metabolic activity in a longitudinal and integrated way gives us a level of early detection that was previously impossible outside clinical research. It has the potential to change prevention for millions of people.”
Also launching at CES is what claims to be the first computer monitor designed to help those with dyslexia, who make up about 8 to 10 per cent of the world’s population. The Lili Screen has an adjustable frequency and backlight to help dyslexics read and reduce their stress and fatigue. Bertrand Descours, the general manager at Lili for Life, said: “When you have dyslexia you have visual stress. This stress generates a doubling of what you see. This screen clears this.” The Lili Screen is currently part of clinical trials and costs €599.
