THE GOODS : Technowatch : Gone! Last of the Excuses
Yo, couch potatoes. You’re out of excuses not to use those exercise bikes, treadmills and stair climbers. HeartBeat Corp. in Stamford, Conn., has come up with an idea that eliminates the boredom .
The HeartBeat Personal Trainer is a new concept from the Sega Genesis video game system that hooks up to any home-exercise equipment, new or old, and keeps you playing while pedaling. A sensor measures your heart rate and controls the pace on a television or monitor. If you go too slow, Outback Joey the kangaroo acts sluggish and may get stung by a scorpion. Go too fast, and Joey moves at an uncontrollable speed and sweats a lot.
The game is fun, and fairly easy to operate, even for computer-game novices. Two control pads dictate Joey’s movement. One makes him go right or left; the other, jump or kick.
HeartBeat Personal Trainer costs $299.95, including the control deck, all components and the Outback Joey tape. If you already have a Sega Genesis control deck, you can buy the other components and tape by ordering the Catalyst at $199.95. Due out this fall are three new games: golf, hockey and a sci-fi adventure. To order, call (800) FUN-PLUS.
Hungry? Stick Your Pen Under Your Nose
If you’ve had it with diet shakes, you may want to try ThinPen, a weight-loss product based on aroma technology.
The ThinPen is a set of three small pens in different colors and aromas: banana, peppermint and green apple. One pen should be used each day in rotation; sniff it about 15 minutes before meals or any time you feel hungry.
Dr. Alan R. Hirsch, neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, developed the ThinPen after several studies. “We have discovered that one can fool the brain into thinking you are full by inhaling various food scents when hungry,” Hirsch says. “The odors act on the satiety center in hypothalamus, or the area of the brain that makes you feel full.”
Most people who use ThinPen, if they also stick to eating healthy foods and doing some exercise, will be able to lose weight, according to ThinPen researchers. A recent six-month study of 3,193 overweight patients found an average loss of five pounds per month. Those who had a better sense of smell lost more, Hirsch says.
ThinPen ($31.95 plus $3.50 shipping and handling) can be ordered from Nutrition for Life, 16300 Mill Creek Blvd., Suite 114-A, Mill Creek, Wash. 98012; (800) 800-7943. The set of three lasts for a month.
It’s Three! Three! Three Lotions in One!
In time for summer sun and bug season is Treo, the first three-in-one lotion that serves as a sunscreen, a bug repellent and a moisturizer for adults and children. It has a clean, herbal scent and comes in three sunscreen strengths--SPF 8, 15 and 30.
Treo’s manufacturer, Biopharm Lab, a pharmaceutical company in Bellport, N.Y., spent two years testing the product before receiving a registration from the Environmental Protection Agency, which sanctions all insect-repellent products.
Treo is PABA-free, effective for at least 80 minutes in the water, and gives an hour of protection from mosquitoes, fleas, ticks and other biting insects. The bug repellent is made from natural, plant-derived citronella.
Treo ($7.99 for SPF 8; $8.99, SPF 15; $9.99, SPF 30) is available nationwide in drugstores, supermarkets and sporting-goods stores. Call (800) 336-TREO for additional information.