Gatorade announces retail availability of its sweat patch
Gatorade has started selling its sweat patch. The single-use wearable uses lab-testing protocol to provide information on your unique sweat profile.
The wearables space is littered with devices that track everything from steps and calories to the number of reps and sets you are lifting in your local gym. These gadgets are getting better with each passing day, but it is fair to say that its been a while since we’ve seen a fitness device that has truly opened up a new frontier in monitoring your health.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets
That looks like its changing in 2021. We wrote a few weeks ago that it has become possible to track blood pressure from the optical sensors on the wrist. Glucose tracking from the same area is also edging closer. But there has been one extremely valuable source of health information that has been ignored so far – your sweat.
Tracking sweat
Every drop of this liquid tells a story about what is happening inside the body. It provides information on dehydration, stress, muscle cramping, high cholesterol, depression and even blood glucose.
Sweat is an ideal source for the capture of data that the medical community usually gathers from our blood, urine, and saliva. It is also the least invasive—no needle or cup needed.
The science of sweat is still in the early stages although clinical uses trace back to the 1950’s. It is only now that we are witnessing rapid acceleration of the technology for applications ranging from athletics to pediatrics to pharmaceutical monitoring.
GX Sweat Patch
Gatorade, which is owned by PepsiCo, is one of the first companies that has released a commercial sweat analysis product. Developed with John Rogers and his team, their sweat patch looks at differences in color caused by chemical reactions. Users can then examine the patch to monitor both the level of dehydration and the concentration of chloride in their body.
This is a single-use wearable that you are meant to stick the thing to your inner forearm. From there it fills up with sweat during exercise. Gatorade says the Gx Sweat Patch is ideally worn for around 30 minutes at a time.
Once you’re done scan the patch with your smartphone. The Gatorade’s mobile app will display your unique sweat profile.
This includes your sweat rate (how much you sweat), sweat type and sodium concentration. The app also spits out info on what you need to do to recover in terms of nutrition and hydration so you can prepare adequately for your next bike or run.
The software syncs with Apple Health, Garmin, Strava and other fitness apps. That will give you some more exercise stats to sink your teeth into.
The GX Sweat Patch can be purchased now for $249.99 (US customers only) on this link. The box is a 10 pack.
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