This smart gadget can tell if someone is mindlessly eating

Look, it's time to toss out those food diaries. Clemson University researchers have created something for every dieter who is struggling to shed those extra pounds.

Bite Counter may feel like a watch, and even looks like one. But it isn't one. It tracks your eating habits and tells you when you are eating and drinking, by monitoring the movements in your wrist.

“At the societal level, current weight-loss and maintenance programs are failing to make a significant impact. Studies have shown that people tend to underestimate what they eat by large margins. Bite count can be used as a proxy for caloric count,” Clemson's Eric Muth said in a statement.

Tracking how much food you’re stuffing into your mouth is part of the quantified self movement, which has spawned number of consumer products that monitor everything from sleep patterns to health monitoring. For instance, Lark tracks how well you sleep and Azumio can measure your heart rate through a smartphone camera.

The device is currently available at www.icountbites.com, with a price tag of $799. The food monitoring device comes with a nylon velcro wrist band, Li-Ion rechargeable battery, USB cable and a power adaptor. But it will take up 6- 8 weeks for delivery.

While the device doesn’t count every single crumb you stuff into your mouth, scientists say the device is 90 percent accurate in counting bites. It's similar to the mathematical formula that’s used to convert your 5 miles on a treadmill to many calories were burned.

The first 20 guinea pigs are being tracked for a month, which will give researchers a reference point to work with for a new kind of weight loss study. Currently, the device has yet to collect enough data points to position itself as a diet tool just yet. Still wondering how it works? Watch here.

Photos: Bite Technologies

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com