My name is Garima Jhalaria and I am a Sodexo distance dietetic intern. A week ago, my husband gave me an apple watch as my graduation gift. After using it for a day, I asked myself, “What will be the future of health when it is combined with technology?” Take a second, think about it. The technology is advancing and so is the field of dietetics. Let’s take a step back and come to the present. We dietitians, ask our clients to keep a food log or food diary to keep track of food that they ate. So, when they come to visit us, they can share that information with us. For a diabetic patient, it is usually recommended that they keep a log of blood glucose levels. They also need to set a reminder to check blood glucose at specified times. A patient has to even keep a log of the exercise, diet (carbohydrate), insulin (type and time administered) that they take each day. Did you notice, a patient has to keep track of so many things in order to maintain their blood glucose level?
Now, nearly two-thirds of Americans are SmartPhone owners. SmartPhones have great apps like MyFitnessPal, MyPlate calorie tracker, Nutritionix track, Diabetes Diary and many more to keep track of food. These apps are very simple to use and keep all the information safe and secure at one place for years. A person has to just log what they ate and the app will calculate the calorie, macronutrients, and micronutrient content. This data can be shared with the health care professional or care-giver. These apps also have a section to log information on exercise and sleep. We often forget how sleep can be a very important factor in one’s health. The Diabetes Diary app (picture on left) allows diabetic patients to record glucose readings, insulin doses, exercise, and carbohydrate counting. These apps are so cool that they summarize the data, taking into account all the different factors. Isn’t this awesome?
Today, technology is wearable like Google Glass and SmartWatch. The SmartWatches connect to your phone via bluetooth and one can see all the data from a SmartPhone on SmartWatch without touching the phone. The SmartWatches have the same apps as SmartPhones. The data can be entered from the SmartWatch as well. They automatically track exercise and monitor heart rate. They can be so great that in some apps, after a meal is taken, an automatic reminder is set to measure the blood glucose level. Now, self management is less hard work but only smart work.
Today, technology is wearable like Google Glass and SmartWatch. The SmartWatches connect to your phone via bluetooth and one can see all the data from a SmartPhone on SmartWatch without touching the phone. The SmartWatches have the same apps as SmartPhones. The data can be entered from the SmartWatch as well. They automatically track exercise and monitor heart rate. They can be so great that in some apps, after a meal is taken, an automatic reminder is set to measure the blood glucose level. Now, self management is less hard work but only smart work.
I hope that technology provides a solution such that a diabetic patient no longer has to prick themselves to check their blood glucose level. Google Glass can calculate the amount of calories, macronutrients and micronutrients from the food automatically, that would be groundbreaking for the public and our profession. The future of self management where there is less manual logging and more automated tracked by wearables or SmartPhones will be revolutionary. Can you imagine a world like this? SmartPhones and SmartWatches may be the future of self-management.
Reference:
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1932296814567708
Reference:
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1932296814567708
