[mindyourbody - 10] st/myb/page 04/12/14

10
THE STRAITS TIMES
DECEMBER 4 2014
Cover Story
An app a day
keeps the
doctor away
Y
ou want to make some
changes for the better
– eat more wisely,
exercise more regularly,
and look after yourself
and your family.
Sometimes, however, it is hard
to know if you have made the right
choices or if you are on track.
POCARI CROSS RUN
Free, iOS and Android
What it is: An app which
generates running routes for
users, who earn points during a
run.
Developed by: Pocari Sweat
Singapore, digital creative
house AID-DCC and advertising
agency Asatsu-DK Singapore.
Number of
downloads:
26,500 since
Oct 15.
Who it is for:
Runners.
How to use it:
To generate
running routes,
tap your startand end-points
on a Google
map in the app.
Choose a
distance, from
1km to 30km,
and the number
of hydration
points (7-Eleven
stores) which
you want to
cover on your
route. Select one of the two
running routes generated, then
start running.
The app is linked to all
500 7-Eleven stores here.
Users earn tokens to play
Bingo by completing the route.
They can also get tokens when
they run past or walk into a
7-Eleven store (limited to once
per hour) or when they buy
Pocari Sweat drinks in the
store.
Here comes help – lots of it –
as mobile health apps burgeon,
from helping you decide if the
music blasting through your
earphones is too loud to tracking
your workouts to talking you
through administering first aid.
Mind Your Body clicks through
some which were launched
recently.
There are six levels – from a
beginner runner to an elite
runner who clocks 100km or
more in mileage. The longer the
distance one runs, the more
points one earns in Bingo.
Why you should use it:
Encourage yourself to put on
your running shoes as the
game component makes it
enticing to clock more mileage.
The top 300
scorers in the
Bingo game will
win prizes. The
grand prize is a
pair of air
tickets and a
pass to a
marathon in
Japan.
User says:
Internet
entrepreneur
Priscilla Chew,
26, said the
app motivates
her to go for a
run “especially
on days when
you are feeling
lazy to work
out”.
She adds:
“Having the
app generate a running course
also means I don’t need to
constantly think about which
direction to run. Yet, I know
that I am clocking the required
mileage.”
Her only gripe is that the
app depletes the battery in her
Apple iPhone 5 too quickly, so
she cannot go further than
10km on a single battery
charge.
Joan Chew
JOYCE TEO
JOAN CHEW
Mind Your Body lists
mobile apps and online tools
to help you live a healthy
lifestyle
EARRESPONSIBLE
Free, Android only
What it is: This app helps you
measure the volume of your music
and suggest an appropriate sound
level.
Developed by: Three biomedical
engineering students from Temasek
Polytechnic – Mr Wong
Geng Hui, 24, Ms Jean
Yap and Mr Parry Yew,
both 19 – for their
final-year project.
“As young people,
we are concerned that
the importance of
hearing health is often
neglected by our
peers,” said Ms Yap,
the project leader.
Their previous
project supervisor,
Mr Gary Lee,
president of the
Society for Audiology
Professionals Singapore, said young
people often do not realise how loud
their music is.
“The app tells them if their music
is too loud and, hopefully, they can
modify their listening habit.”
Number of downloads: 176 since its
debut in mid-September.
Who it is for: Anyone who listens to
music through their earphones.
How to use it: Open the app and
DOCTOR FOR A DAY
Free, iOS (Apple iPads only) and
Android
What it is: A visit to the doctor can
be scary for kids. This app tries to
take the stress out of it by letting
kids play doctor. Designed by Mount
Elizabeth Novena Hospital, it lets
kids dress up as a doctor, dispense
medication and use surgical
implements, such as sutures and
lasers, to correct problems.
Children earn points while playing
the games and these can be used
to exchange for toys or games at
the hospital, such as toy syringes
and a memory card game.
Developed by: Mount Elizabeth
Novena Hospital and creative
agency cum.m+d.
Number of downloads: 4,200
since Oct 1.
follow the step-by-step instructions
on calibrating your device.
After the calibration is done, play
music on your phone and go back to
the app. Place your earpiece on the
calibrated microphone.
A decibel reading will then
appear. If it is at 85 decibels or
above, the screen will flash to alert
the user that the volume has
reached a dangerous
level. This stops only
when the volume is
adjusted to a safe
level.
Why you should use
it: Blasting music
through your
earphones can cause
noise-induced hearing
loss.
Playing an MP3
device at maximum
volume produces
sounds at 105
decibels, but research
has shown that listening to sounds
of just 85 decibels or more over a
prolonged period of time can lead to
hearing loss.
User says: Mr Jeremy Lim, 19,
a design student at Republic
Polytechnic, was motivated to think
about noise-induced hearing loss
when he tried the app. “Previously,
I didn’t think that listening to loud
music was a real problem.”
Joyce Teo
COCA-COLA SWIM CHALLENGE
Free, online
What it is: This encourages you to
complete more laps in the pool. You
can record your swims, track your
progress and challenge your
Facebook friends. You can also form
a team and record the distances
clocked as a team.
To use the app, you will first need
a Facebook account to log in.
Best used on a smartphone, the
mobile-optimised site was created by
Coca-Cola Singapore and Sports
Swim Organisation, which organised
the inaugural Prudential Singapore
Swim Stars in September.
Developed by: Digital marketing
agency RevSquare
Number of users: 330 people since
its launch in August this year.
Who it is for: Swimmers.
How to use it: Go to
coke.swim-challenges.com and key in
the distance or number of laps you
have completed.
Each recorded swim will be saved,
so it is easy to keep track of the
distance covered.
You can then see how many laps
you have completed in a certain
week, for example.
You can also use it to challenge
your friends or keep score with one
another.
FLABULESS
From $5,000 for corporations,
depending on requirements;
free for employees, online
Developed by: Corporate perks
management service Rewardz.
Number of users: More than
1,000 staff from the National
University Hospital (NUH) registered
accounts on the portal during
NUH Active Month in October.
How to use it: NUH chose to
promote stair-climbing among its
staff and to sync Flabuless with free
fitness app, RunKeeper.
This meant that an employee
could use RunKeeper to track his
distance covered through
User says: Mr Marco Castano, 24,
a management consultant at
Accenture, said the app helps him to
track the progress of his swim
workouts easily.
“This app does not require me to
buy expensive waterproof tracking
devices.
“All I need to do is key in the
distance and time, which I keep track
of on my watch,” he said.
Joyce Teo
One needs at least
100 points to exchange
for vouchers.
An employee can
also enter his health
screening results into
the portal.
If his health
parameters all fall
within acceptable
ranges, he can redeem
the vouchers.
What it is: A first-in-Singapore
corporate-fitness online platform
which motivates employees to
participate in fitness challenges to
earn real-world rewards.
Who it is for: Employees.
Why you should use it: Apart from
helping you keep track of your swim
distances, it also allows you to share
your progress on Facebook.
You can upload photos of your
swim training and compare your
achievements with other users.
stair-climbing, which would then be
captured on Flabuless. Otherwise, he
can manually record this data.
Points are awarded for a person’s
clocked mileage and his participation
in health-related events organised
throughout that month, such as lunch
talks and cooking demonstrations.
User says: Senior staff
nurse Yvonne Ong used
the portal daily during
NUH Active Month
and covered a distance
equivalent to 5,600
levels in a building.
She felt that the
friendly competition she had with her
colleagues motivated her to be more
active. “I have since incorporated
more walking and stair-climbing into
my lifestyle, so much so that it is
almost a habit now,” she said.
Joan Chew
Who it is for: Children aged four to
eight.
How to use It: Go to the ward map
and click on the icons on the doors
to get to the games.
Why you should use it: The game
can not only help to stimulate a
child’s mind, but also arouse their
curiosity about the medical
profession.
User says: Photographer Joan
Leong, 34, who tried the app with
her eight-year-old daughter Clare,
said her daughter had fun using it.
“The game was useful in helping
her understand some of the medical
issues our family members went
through this year,” she said.
Joyce Teo
PEDIASURE-NUTRITRAC
Free, online
What it is: Use this online tool to
decide if your child is eating well.
Key in your child’s height, weight and
age, as well as what he eats daily.
The tool evaluates if he is eating
the right amounts of food from the
different food groups. It then gives
you tips on ensuring he continues to
do so.
Developed by: Global health-care
firm Abbott, as a marketing tool for
PediaSure, a nutritional supplement
for children who are not eating well.
Number of users: 805 people have
registered since its mid-October
launch.
Who it is for: Parents with children
aged between one and 12.
It is based on the local diet and
takes into consideration dietary
guidelines by the Health Promotion
Board.
How to use it: Register at
www.pediasure-nutritrac.com. You
have to allow Abbott to contact you
regarding its products and services.
After that, you can start entering
your child’s details and his daily food
intake.
Why you should use it: The tool can
help parents identify potential dietary
gaps in their child’s diet.
Parents can also fill up a checklist
to determine if their child is a picky
eater, said an Abbott spokesman.
User says: Ms Chloe Liang, a
stay-at-home mum, said the tool
made her more aware of what her
five-year-old daughter was eating.
“The tool served as a good
reminder of what makes a healthy
and balanced diet,” she said.
What Ms Liang found out was
that her daughter had been eating
sufficient amounts of vegetables,
but not enough fruit.
The app advised her to let her
child enjoy different types of fruit,
especially brightly coloured varieties,
which tend to have more nutrients
and phytochemicals.
It also advised her to go for whole
fruit rather than juices, as the latter
often contain little or no dietary fibre.
Joyce Teo
Fans on apps which
help them keep fit
I use the Runtastic Pedometer
app to help achieve my target of
10,000 steps a day. It calculates
the number of steps taken,
distance covered and speed. It’s
an app which motivates one to
walk more and not take short cuts
or use the escalator.
An additional feature which
would be good to have would be
one that counts how many bites
of food one has taken, how much
chewing has been done and to
set off an alarm when one has
had enough.
Low Jo
I use mobile apps such as
RunKeeper and MapMyRun to
track my training runs and when
I am preparing for major races.
These are useful because they
track the time taken, distance
covered and calories burned. It
helps to ensure that my training
regimen is on track and shows
me how well I am gearing up for
race day.
My run information can be
uploaded onto social media sites
and friends can comment and
encourage me from there.
Pris Cilla
I download apps to keep track of
my daily food intake. I find them
useful as I am more conscious of
what I eat. I will key in the name
of the item to find out its calorie
count before deciding if I should
get it.
I wish the apps would have a
wider variety of food choices.
Sometimes, I can’t find certain
food items.
Esther L Chng
I have downloaded a diet and
nutrition app, which helps me to
keep track of my daily calorie
intake and make healthier
choices.
If you find it hard to exercise,
there are running apps which can
track your favourite running routes
while calculating the distance
covered and calories burned.
Yih Ling Chan
WINNER
Pris Cilla wins a $50 shopping
voucher for the best post. The
winner should e-mail her full
name, username, address,
identity card number and contact
number to sthealth@sph.com.sg
by Wednesday. Specify STMYB
Facebook as the subject.
www.facebook.com/STMindYourBody