What else a watch can't monitor?
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A quick overview of this issue
A new trend in fitness
- Wearables or devices that affect the heart
- "Dry eating" can be a dangerous fitness trend
- SFIA: Focus on the growth of the brand's core sports population
Brand dynamics
- The UFC will host tournaments in China
- The NBA and Ant Group have reached a comprehensive strategic cooperation
- The Apple Watch may implement the function of measuring blood sugar
- Nike and adidas foundries cut employees
- Orangetheory introduces a personalized maximum heart rate algorithm
- SoulCycle founders launch new studio
- Garmin called the drop in profits the disappearance of the "pandemic dividend."
Brand financing
- Quell received $10 million in funding led by Tencent
- Ape Giant received tens of millions of strategic financing
- Improfit received €565,000 in financing
Wearables or affect heart devices Recently, a study published in the Heart Rhythm journal showed that wearable devices may interfere with some implantable heart devices, such as pacemakers.
The study found that devices such as smart watches, smart rings, and smart scales can interfere with the functioning of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), and during "bioimpedance sensing," small currents from wearable devices can interfere with the operation of such devices. Dr. Benjamin Sanchez Terrones, principal investigator of the project and the University of Utah, said: "The electrical disturbances generated by bioimpedance sensing exceed the guidelines accepted by the Food and Drug Administration and interfere with the normal operation of CIEDs. "But the manufacturers are not communicating the risks to patients who use wearable devices." "Dry eating" can be a dangerous fitness trend
According to Italy's "Milan Sports Daily", in social software, it is common for bodybuilders or fitness enthusiasts to eat powdered supplements such as protein powder, claiming that dry eating can quickly boost energy and improve fitness levels, but the potential risks of this matter far outweigh the perceived benefits.
First of all, dry eating itself is scientifically untenable, and there are several health risks, diluted with water can gradually be absorbed by the body to optimize the exercise effect. Choking is one of them, supplements contain a lot of caffeine and creatine, which are difficult to consume by eating dry alone, and the powder can also settle in the throat or esophagus, especially for people who are about to exercise, which may cause pain or difficulty breathing. Many fitness supplements contain ingredients like β-alanine, niacin, and taurine, which can cause itching, rashes, and breathing difficulties in allergy sufferers, while water dilutes them and reduces the risk of allergies. In addition, dry eating may increase the risk of heart palpitations, arrhythmias and other cardiovascular problems due to the rapid release of large amounts of caffeine. SFIA: Focusing on the growth of the brand's core sports populationRecently, the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) released its sports participation report, which shows that the sports rate in the United States has increased for the fifth consecutive year. The report also notes that growth in activities ranging from golf, tennis, basketball, kayaking to surfing will continue to benefit from the coronavirus. Overall, in 2022, a total of 51.7% of people in the United States are core sports people (often participate in at least one specific sport), they will consider brand and quality differences when purchasing related sports equipment, and are the most loyal consumers in the sports industry, and this data is also the fifth consecutive year, an increase of 10.1% since 2017. Among the various activities, racket sports were the most widely engaged in 2022, with participation rates ranging from 17.6% to 158.6% in three years of the pandemic. The participation rate of core participants (more than eight times) increased by 68.6%.
Among them, tennis is the most widely watched racket sport, with 23.6 million; In lifestyle sports, the participation rate of golf has increased by more than 20% since 2019 and increased by 9.7% last year; In team sports, basketball leads the way in growth rates, up 13% since 2019. Among aquatic events, kayaking and surfing are the most popular, with growth rates of 19.1% and 24.6% respectively since 2019; Among outdoor activities, the most popular is rock climbing, which has increased by 164.7% since 2019; Camping has increased by 32.8% since 2019. In fitness, participation in training camp-style training (HIIT), aerobic taekwondo, and stationary cycling (group) improved in 2022, but decreased compared to 2019, with participation in running/jogging falling by 2.4% in 2022 and by 4.5% since 2019; Participation rates such as elliptical machines, climbing machines, and gravity resistance machines declined in 2022, down more than 10% compared to 2019. Barre and Pilates saw an increase in engagement in 2022, while yoga saw a decline in the last year. Individual combat sports saw an increase in participation in 2022.
Brand dynamics
The UFC will host tournaments in China
Recently, at the first Carnival annual awards ceremony held at the UFC Shanghai Elite Training Center, the UFC Asia Pacific Senior Vice President said that he will start hosting events in China as soon as possible, and hopes to increase the number of matches in China within a year, and the ideal city is Shanghai.
At the same time, the UFC also announced that in 2023, China Mobile Migu will continue to be the official all-media partner of the event in Chinese mainland, and the two sides will cooperate in event broadcasting, fitness courses and other aspects.
The NBA and Ant Group have reached a comprehensive strategic cooperation
Recently, NBA China and Ant Group jointly announced that the two sides have launched a comprehensive strategic partnership, Alipay has become a strategic partner of NBA digital life, and NBA video content will also land on the Alipay platform for the first time.
It is reported that the two parties will carry out comprehensive cooperation in NBA video content and program broadcasting, joint membership, and mini program operation, joint marketing using Ant Group's privacy computing services, digital collections, and corporate social responsibility.
The Apple Watch may implement the function of measuring blood sugar
Recently, according to a report by Bloomberg Mark Gurman, Apple has made significant progress in non-invasive blood glucose monitoring technology. The future app is planned as a feature of the Apple Watch that Apple hopes to use to allow diabetics and others to test blood sugar levels, but without the need to prick the skin for blood tests.
To test blood glucose levels without bleeding, Apple is developing a silicon photonics chip that utilizes a spectrometric measurement program that irradiates a laser under the skin for continuous glucose monitoring. Apple's system, which has been developed for more than 12 years and cost millions of dollars, is now in the proof-of-concept stage and is considered feasible, but needs to be streamlined to a more realistic size, according to people familiar with the matter. One of the goals of this technology is to warn people if they have prediabetes, so that they can improve their lifestyle to avoid developing type 2 diabetes. However, continuous blood glucose monitoring has its challenges, including the challenges that Google has failed at many companies. Currently, simple blood glucose measurement technology on the market includes patches developed by Dexcom and Abbott Laboratories. When the patch is applied to the skin, a tiny probe is implanted under the skin, and glucose data can be obtained by simply scanning the sensor with a scan monitor. However, it needs to be replaced every 14 days.
Nike and adidas foundries cut employees
According to a number of media news, recently, according to two local Vietnamese officials, China's Taiwan Baocheng Group plans to lay off about 6,000 employees in stages in the local area. Specifically, 3,000 workers were laid off in February, and contracts will not be renewed with another 3,000 workers later this year. Poucheng Group is the world's largest sports shoe OEM and one of the suppliers of Nike and adidas. According to statistics, in the global market of brand-name sports shoes and casual shoes, the market share of Poucheng Group is about 20%.
Vietnamese media said that this was due to sluggish export demand to Europe and the United States due to inflation, according to Baocheng, the move was related to uncertainty about the macro outlook, but had limited impact on the company's operations.
In December 2022, a number of overseas business media also reported that Nike and adidas will reduce production by 30%~40% this year, mainly due to the continuous impact of the epidemic and the suspension of business in Russia. Vietnam is a significant part of the world's manufacturing hub, and economists say a weak global economy is starting to affect trade shipments. According to data from Vietnam's General Bureau of Statistics, the country's exports of footwear products in January this year fell by 18% compared with the same period last year.
Orangetheory introduces a personalized maximum heart rate algorithm
Recently, Canadian fitness brand Orangetheory Fitness announced the launch of the brand's proprietary Personalized MaxHR algorithm.
Orangetheory generated the technology using its connectivity technology, combined with data from more than 280 million completed workouts, and tracking members' classroom performance over time.
The new technology optimizes coaches' ability to assess exercise intensity, better help them guide users in progress and retreat, and provide more effective and personalized workouts.
SoulCycle founders launch new studio
Recently, SoulCycle founders Cutler and Rice launched a new studio in New York called Peoplehood, which aims to help consumers strengthen relationships and develop soft skills such as active listening and empathy to combat the "crisis of loneliness."
Located in New York, the studio offers 60-minute sessions in music, led by trained "guides" to breathe, share and listen, in collaboration with psychotherapists, government officials, life coaches, academics, kindergarten teachers, and more.
Garmin called the drop in profits the disappearance of the "pandemic dividend."
Recently, Garmin announced its final financial results for 2022, which showed that its bicycle and fitness division (including smart watches, bicycle equipment) had operating income of $105 million, a significant decrease of 71% compared to 2021, when the division's operating profit was $359 million.
In this regard, President Garmin explained that this is the foreseeable "normalization" of the industry after the new crown pandemic. "We're seeing bike products go back to normal and we feel it's very healthy." "Going forward, we see the bike market stabilizing, so we don't have to pay too much attention to that factor, and secondly, we have an exciting product roadmap that we can benefit from," Pemble says. ”
This may reflect the general trend of the bicycle industry after the new crown. Just recently, a leading rating agency downgraded Garmin rival Wahoo's credit rating, warning that its financial position was "unsustainable" unless it could raise further capital or restructure its debt.
Brand financing
Quell received $10 million in funding led by Tencent
Recently, British home fitness game company Quell announced that it has received a $10 million Series A financing led by Tencent, followed by Khosla Ventures, Heartcore Capital, Social Impact Capital and entrepreneur Naval Ravikant, and Quell's total financing has reached $15.6 million as of this round. Quell is a UK-based fitness game developer and publisher, and its Impact platform is the world's first dedicated fitness gaming system, a movement and biometric tracking technology that delivers immersive video game-fitness experiences. At the same time, Quell is also building its own fitness hardware equipment.
According to reports, these funds will be used for the development of its first game, Shardfall, as well as its new project, as well as the mass production of Quill fitness hardware Imapct. Ape Giant received tens of millions of strategic financing Recently, the domestic youth sports brand "Ape Giant" announced the completion of tens of millions of strategic financing, this round of investors is Beijing Zhonghe Xingye Asset Management Co., Ltd., this round of funds will be mainly used for brand upgrade, course research and development upgrade, product upgrade, operation service upgrade, team talent optimization and upgrading, etc. Ape Giant Youth Sports Center is a physical fitness project under Beijing Epster Sports Technology Co., Ltd., established in 2021, is a professional physical fitness institution for the development of children aged 2-12. Improfit Receives €565,000 in Financing Recently, sports technology company Improfit received €565,000 from Sabadell Bank, which was led by 4Founders Capital and Bstartup Banco Sabadell. Improfit, a B2B2C company that provides interactive tools for rehabilitation and training, will be used to strengthen the development team for computer vision platforms and training algorithms.
(Except for separate annotations, the rest of the pictures and screenshots of the article are from enterprises or official releases.) ）