Tech And Health Come Together At CES 2013

Tablets, 110 inch 4k televisions and self-driving cars may be getting all of the attention at CES this year but there have also been numerous products aimed at health and fitness.

The 2013 International CES saw a 25% increase in health and fitness products this year. More than 215 exhibitors busted out the heart rate monitors, fat shakers, and fitness apps over 27,000 square feet of exhibit space.

One of the most interesting products on the show floor this year was a “smart” fork. The Haplfork helps monitor just how fast you’re eating. If you’re really shoveling the food into your mouth the Haplfork will vibrate in order to remind you to slow down and chew your food. The smart fork also has a built in USB drive that you can use to track your eating habits. The fork doesn’t count calories but it can help change your eating habits.

In addition to smart forks, several companies also released products to make working out more fun. UnitedHealthcare and Konami Digital Entertainment unveiled a new dance game to encourage kids to be active. Geopalz also unveiled a product aimed at children. The iBitz Powerkey tracker combines a step counter and a virtual pet. Users can keep their pet healthy by taking more steps.

Other devices were aimed at making exercise more enjoyable. SOUL headphones, for instance, released a sweat proof pair of headphones. The fun-free headphones, which are endorsed by Usain Bolt, were designed to be worn while exercising.

Lan Kennedy-Davis, CEO of SOUL Electronics USA, said:

“Bolt was our inspiration for the Run-Free headphones. The ‘fastest man on earth’ needsheadphones that are lightweight, yet durable and sweat resistant, with excellent sound quality. Runners sweat from either their body or their head. In Bolt’s case- he sweats from the head. So, we developed a headphone that would be sweat resistant and never short out. The Run-Free definitely gives the athlete the freedom and confidence to stay active without worrying about ruining their headphones.”

The Digital Health Summit also featured innovators, new gadgets, and speeches from people like Ariana Huffington. Huffington moderated a panel discussion to talk about how technology has changed the way we look at health.

Huffington said:

“This is truly a perfect storm of multiple trends coming together, dramatically changing the eco-system in which digital health and our own health are going to be operating.”

Here’s a video of some of the health products at CES this year.

You can get more CES 2013 stories here.