Planning apps aim to help achieve healthier lifestyle

TORONTO -- Feeling stressed, overwhelmed and finding it difficult to fit everything into the day? New apps are designed to help people pace themselves better to achieve a healthier, more balanced lifestyle.

Owaves, for the iPad, is one of several new wellness planning apps that aim to help users reduce stress by visualizing how they will spend their day.

"Day planning is a very important and under-appreciated piece of achieving wellness. It gives you a roadmap," said Royan Kamyar, founder and chief executive officer of Owaves, based in San Diego, California.

The free app includes a 24-hour clock and lets users drag and drop activities essential to health, such as exercise, sleep, relaxation and nutrition, into the day planner to fit into the normal routine of work and play.

"Being cognizant of how you spend time is a fundamental first step towards improving health and wellness," said Kamyar.

Designed by game developers, the app also encourages people to incorporate activities like meditation and spending time with friends and family into their day.

"Something as simple as a half hour of meditation a day is good for you to lower stress, improve memory and reduce depression. But most people will say they don't have that time, which is usually a problem of time management," Kamyar added.

Users can also save routines they plan to repeat regularly.

Other life balance apps include Candooit and Life-Clock, which are both for iPhone and cost 99 cents.

Scott Schieman, a professor of sociology at the University of Toronto in Canada who studies work stress and health, believes the apps may help people gain a greater awareness that they need to take time to unwind.

"With our minds being so cluttered with work and other responsibilities, it's really important to plan some kind of disengagement or time away," he said in an interview, adding that even a five-minute break can be beneficial.

"Planning is key because it's easy to let other things take priority," he added.

But Schieman is skeptical about whether people will follow through on their plans.

"At a minimum these kinds of apps keep your mind more focused on the way you're actually spending your time, but it might raise awareness of how little control you have of that," he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How your excess calories can help people in need

MANILA – On a diet? Imagine your excess calories being given to people who need it most.

The Young Global Leaders' Table for Two launched on Thursday the "Calorie Offset" initiative, which aims to “transfer excess calories” from products to people in need, in the Philippines.

In a press conference at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on East Asia, Table for Two executive director Masa Kogure said the excess calories from products will be monetized into donations for agriculture training, development of school gardens, and other sustainable activities.

“[With] excess calories [being] transferred to people in need, particularly other children… [it will be] monetized into donation for agriculture training, school gardens, and other sustainable initiatives," Kogure said.

The group will be partnering with different brands, sporting events, and manufacturers that will be able to promote the benefits of having a healthier lifestyle.

“[We will] partner with exercise [initiatives], brands, and sporting events that promote burning of calories," Kogure said.

The Calorie Offset program was initially launched in Tokyo, Japan last May 2014 with the participation of companies such as LAWSON, Oisix, Ezaki Glico, Nagatanien, and FiNC.

Among these, LAWSON and Oisix has already begun promoting and selling products supported by the program.

Takeshi Niinami, chairman of Lawson Inc., said the government of Japan supports the initiative.

Although they are still in talks whether the products will cost more than the regularly produced commodities in the market today, Niinami said that they will have to consider the value added function of making the product still top quality.

“This much be a very good tasteful product. We can allow [it to be as it is] but [it will] taste really bad. [We will make sure that] they are very tasteful," Niinami said.

Kogure noted that consumers now pay more to become healthy, and as a branded product, they are looking on providing the worth that they will be offering.

“These days, consumers will actually pay more to become healthy. We are hoping to charge extra on those branded products…but really still in negotiation.”

Kogure said that the products will be produced with local manufacturers, using available ingredients in the area.

“Depends on the location, available local ingredients, [and we will] evaluate the nutrient level of children and examine the micro-nutrients they are lacking," he said.

He said that they are already working on partnerships with different local institutions and chains, including fast food giant Jollibee.

When asked if how long the program will run, Kogure said it will be a long-term project.

“[It] needs to be sustainable, [so we’ll] stay in the Philippines as long as needed.”

Niinami said that this initiative was started to address the problem of obesity evident not only in Japan, but in the world.

He said that they hope the program will be able to provide a solution to the social problem, and at the same time, also help children in need.

“Social problem is that intake of calorie is too much. I hope this initiative will penetrate to other bigger [problems] in Japan, even here in ASEAN… [and provide a] big solution for people in need," he said.

Table for Two is an official affiliate of the Forum of Young Global Leaders. They have launched previous projects which promoted healthy eating while providing for school meals of children in developing countries.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com