Is Startup Technology Making Us Fat?

There’s no denying it—sitting at a computer whilst mindlessly snacking on office snacks leads to a pudgy waistline.  The same goes for sitting around at home and discovering apps on our smartphones...or blowing through 12 episodes of Mad Men in one day thanks to our DVR machines...

Is it true?  Is one of my biggest passions, startup technologies, actually making America fat?  

Thanks to the folks at the economic think tank known was The Milken Institute, there is now data to backup we’ve been trying to ignore. According to its extensive study, a country the size of America will add 4.2 million obese people for every 10% of growth in Information and Communication Technology. As summed in the report, “The main culprit is a knowledge-based society. More processed foods, a greater amount of screen time; decreased energy expenditure and a higher consumption of high calorie/high fat snack foods have all played a role.”

Don’t feel bad, America. We’re not the only ones who have let our waistlines expand right under (and past) our noses. All over the world, obesity rates have increased. China’s obesity rate has more than doubled from 2.5 to 5.7, in the past 6 years. India’s has almost tripled in a decade, 0.7 to 1.9. But in true American fashion, we are the undisputed champions, with 33.8% of our population being obese.

% of Obese Among Adults 

Source: OECD Health Data 2011

The toll on the economy and human life are out of this world. 2.8 million adults die a year from obesity and its related diseases. Obesity has accounted for $147 billion in medical costs.  To put that into perspective, that’s 10% of total spending.

The impact of advancing technology, on the other hand, is an average effect. The slim citizens of France are only mildly affected due to the fact they eat much smaller portions (albeit the amount of fats they consume is proportionally greater).

In the last decade and a half, calorie consumption has increased by 150-250 calories a day. As a control, Milken scientists have tested for calories, exercise and type of consumption (alcohol, fat content, fruits and veggies).  Milken approximates a 1.4% increase in obesity for every 10% increase in the amount invested in Information and Communication Technology.

But, as you all know, this isn’t the end of the world!!  Exercise as easy as walking can make a big difference in reducing obesity. This data shouldn’t be something to damn us to continue on with unhealthy lifestyles. If anything, this should be an eye opener. If you’re an entrepreneur like myself, this data should motivate you to be even more active. Encourage yourself and your team to take breaks from the office and go for a walk or run. Use exercise as a brainstorming activity. Bring in a exercise professional to teach yoga to your startup (that’s a great mind cleanser!). Use a service I’ve talked about before like peerFIT or HitchFit—it doesn’t matter what you do, just be active!

What I’ve stated above is just data—not a law or rule. These obesity statistics, facts and data can be changed...it just takes a lot of time and a lot of effort.  But guess what?  You’re a startup entrepreneur!  If you have the confidence, ability and courage to start your own business, you sure as heck have the capacity to start making people’s lives healthier.  Let’s start today! 

peerFit Puts Mobile Entrepreneurs in the Gym

I recently had the chance to meet Ed Buckley and Rex Tullius, two entrepreneurs from Florida who are creating a new app called peerFit.  Ed and Rex have been traveling across the country to gain advice from seasoned entrepreneurs and to spread the word about their new app geared toward fitness.  Take a look at a blog we recently posted on thinkbigkansascity.blogspot.com about Ed, Rex and their peerFit startup:

This is it—your year to get fit.  You purchased your new tennis shoes, you joined the local gym and you even gave in to buying those outrageously priced $22 dri-fit socks that the salesman at the Nike outlet somehow suckered you into.  Now, it’s finally time to take a look at the gym’s fitness class schedule and pick your poison.

And then you reach a state of pure panic.  Your eyes skim the gym’s online class calendar with confusion. Zumba...what the heck is that?  Instructor Michael McThrowdown...is he going to kill me?  Yogalates?...I can’t even pronounce that!

After questions such as these, you might give up on the fitness classes all together and opt for the monotonous 45 minutes on the elliptical.  Bummer.

Ed Buckley, President of peerFit.

Ed Buckley, Ph.D. student in the department of Health Education and Behavior at the University of Florida experienced this same problem...only he decided to fix it.  As a group fitness instructor in Gainesville, Buckley knew he taught a great fitness class, yet no one seemed to show up.  To draw people in, Ed decided to start writing exercises on the whiteboard in the classroom so gym passerbys could take note of what to expect during classes.

This small, seemingly insignificant change drew in more people than Buckley was prepared for.  Suddenly, people in the Gainesville gym wanted to be social while working out.  Ed Buckley immediately saw a need...and that need became known aspeerFit. 

peerFit is a free online and mobile app designed to allow users to quickly search and filter through workout options to find a class that best suits their individual needs.  The peerFit program has been developed in order to give users a more interactive platform for discovering and researching new workout classes within a particular area.  The app alone has not only helped gyms go social, but has inched users closer toward their fitness goals.

“Thirty percent of people are more likely to keep working out if they get into the right class,” says Buckley.  “We want to help people find the right class and then allow them to share the classes that they like with others.  People like to share their workout experiences—and prove that they went to classes!  It empowers them and it’s one of the greatest parts of the health realm.” 

In other words, peerFit helps perpetuate the fitness “circle of life” that makes most apps (not to mention fitness regimens) so successful.

There’s more to peerFit than meets the eye.  The app and mobile site incorporate an interactive calendar, workout uploads, instructor reviews, class reviews and overall class recommendations too.  Currently, the app is in Beta launch with a full peerFit marketing campaign to launch September 1, 2012.  The campaign will take place in Tampa, Atlanta and Jacksonville, however, any gym in any city is able to download and give peerFit a try today.

The founders of peerFit.
Source: Gainesville.com

As part of its mission, peerFit has helped to make gyms more social and connect people to one another through fitness.  So it comes to no surprise that Buckley immediately brought on three business partners (which also happen to be his good friends) to help launch and grow the app.  The peerFit team is currently made up of four partners including Buckley, Rex Tullius, Matt Redinger and Scott Peeples as well as public relations specialist, Anastasia Revzina.

The team has been working tireless hours (on top of fulltime jobs, grueling swim practices and never-ending graduate school lectures) in order to see that peerFit is the best app it can be. 

“I think the coolest thing about this process is that it has been beyond a fulltime job for us, but we are still able to run it as students and professional athletes,” says Buckley.  “We love to be busy, we love going 100 miles per hour and we love meeting people.”

Ed Buckley and Rex Tullius came all the way from Florida to visit
 Think Big Partners and to learn more about Kansas City's startup resources.

During the app’s build phase, the peerFit team somehow found enough time to survey over 10,000 potential users about the impact that the app could have.  According to results, 77% of surveyors believed they would be more motivated to try a new class if they could read about the workout ahead of time.

“It’s important for us to take a step back and look at peerFit from an outsider’s perspective,” says Rex Tullius. “We are all about picking people’s brains.  Those potential users know how to make the product better.” 

What can we expect from peerFit in the coming months?  Other than its mega marketing campaign hitting in the southeast in September, we can also expect a rollout of the full mobile app and website at the beginning of September.

“I am proud of the process we have built,” says Buckley.  “We love meeting with different gyms and getting to know people.  That’s what makes us unique.  But the truth of the matter is great athletes, great musicians and great entrepreneurs just aren't ‘normal’.  We are obsessive.  Running a startup is difficult, but we love it.  We may get criticisms 10, 20, 30 times over, but we always come back with more passion to move forward.” 

Keep an eye out for peerFit, the fitness app that’s making major waves, this fall.  To learn more or to get your gym involved with the app, visit www.peerfit.com. 

Read the full article at: http://www.thinkbigkansascity.blogspot.com/2012/08/if-app-fits-download-it-introducing.html