The Power of Personal Metrics

The current issue of WIRED magazine features a very interesting article about Living by Numbers which in many ways is an approach to improving your life. For years researchers and data analyst have been mining through data to help us understand the root cause of life’s health problems. According to various medical organizations 50% of our health related problems are the result of our own doing. If we’d just eat right, control the portion of food we eat, and exercise regularly a large majority of our health issues would go away. Overweight and obesity are major contributors to many preventable causes of death. On average, higher body weights are associated with higher death rates. The number of overweight children, adolescents, and adults has risen over the past four decades. Total costs (medical cost and lost productivity) attributable to obesity alone amounted to an estimated $99 billion in 1995.
With the multitude of tools and applications available at our fingertips there really is no reason we can’t analyze our personal metrics. Over one million runners have discovered Nike+ and the power of managing their personal information. Giving them the ability to set goals, track results, and share with other runners is part of the reason this is such a success. My son is currently using the iPod Nano with Nike+ and openly admits that he’s addicted. In fact, the day Lance Armstrong did a voice-over when he finished his run telling him that he set a new personal best was very impressive and just added to his level of commitment. He plans to give the iPod to me when he upgrades – I can’t wait! Another tool that the world is very familiar with is Facebook. The problem is we’re not harnessing the information at an individual level just yet, but I’m sure that’s coming. The other challenge is many of these applications are like “individual islands of info” and they don’t play well together. Success will come when integration between various applications is as simple as connecting them one time. A new player that wants to capture life moments is This Moment which looks to integrate moments of your life in pictures, videos, and how the moment made you feel. The last part, how it made you feel, is very interesting when you think about the potential of adding in things like sleep, exercise, and other items such as basic health info – heart rate, blood pressure, etc. If we’re willing to take that step and then share with our respective doctors think of the possibilities. It’s like letting our doctor join us as our health coach! I don’t know about you, but why wouldn’t you want a professional looking at your data to help you along the way?
If you share in my excitement take a few steps and get started measuring your personal metrics today!
All the best,
Bob