In Brief

Smart Bra Aims to Reign In Unhealthy Eating

News
By Rachael Rettner
published

Photo of a generic bra. (Image credit: dreamstime.com)

Forget Fitbit, how about a fit bra?

Researchers at Microsoft are attempting to create a bra that can detect the wearer's mood, and prevent them from engaging in emotional eating (or eating for emotional reasons, like when we're stressed). The idea is to have a sensor-equipped bra detect your mood, and send a message to your smartphone if it thinks you're in danger of over eating, according to Mashable.

The research is still in its early stages. In a small study, four women wore a bra that included a heart monitor, and other sensors to monitor skin conductance and movement. They also regularly recorded their mood on a smartphone app.

The bra could predict the women's mood with more than 70 percent accuracy, the researchers said.

The researchers still need to address issues of battery life (the battery lasted just three to four hours), and comfort, and investigate whether an alert really would stop you from eating that pint of ice cream when you're stressed.

Rachael Rettner
Rachael Rettner
Contributor

Rachael is a Live Science contributor, and was a former channel editor and senior writer for Live Science between 2010 and 2022. She has a master's degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a B.S. in molecular biology and an M.S. in biology from the University of California, San Diego. Her work has appeared in Scienceline, The Washington Post and Scientific American.