My two and a half year old Fitbit Flex has quit working. It is fully charged, but is no longer counting my steps. When I bought it, it was the least expensive, most basic model and is no longer being made.
I've enjoyed the challenge of getting to 10,000 steps every day and the thrill of seeing 30,000 or more steps register on my sight seeing days.
Ten thousand steps a day seems to be the arbitrary number of daily steps to strive for. Do you know where that number comes from? Japan! In the 1960's a research team from Kyushu University investigated and discovered that the average Japanese person took between 3,500 and 5,000 steps a day. They thought that if people increased their daily step count to 10,000, they could decrease their risk of coronary artery disease. This number became a successful marketing campaign. To capitalize on the popularity of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the Yamasa Company designed the first wearable step-counter, called the manpo-kei, which translates to 10,000- step meter!
I'm up in the air now about getting a new, better Fitbit model or just letting it go. It is fun, not so expensive, and doesn't take up much space. But, I don't really need it, and sometimes it is a distraction - checking it, keeping it charged, etc. I think I'll go fitbit-less for a little while and see how much I miss it.
What about you - do you have a fitbit or some other type of gadget? If I do decide to get something new, do you have a recommendation?
