CNet: So you want to lose weight? Train for a marathon? Swim faster? With 9,000 health apps in Apple’s iOS App Store–with such titles as RunKeeper for runners, Strava for cyclists, and Gain Fitness for weight lifters–the health app market can appear pretty bloated. And most apps are built with a specific activity in mind.

A former triathlete, Geoff Pitfield wanted to build an app that could track his varied exercise and rate his overall fitness level. That’s why he created Fleetly, a health-tracking service that launched last week on iOS devices.

Built using game design elements, Fleetly is part health diary, part FourSquare. Users can earn medals for completing certain workouts. It keeps track of calories burned, body type, body mass, and workout style to help compare different workouts.

Fitness app Fleetly aims to make workouts a game [Cnet]

Springwise: For many elderly people, leaving the house can become a challenge as their health deteriorates. Hoping to provide both physical support and emotional reassurance, we recently came across The Aid by Lithuanian designer Egle Ugintaite.

As well as acting as an aid to walking, the cane, which recently won the grand prize in Fujitsu’s 2011 design award, also monitors the users’ pulse, blood pressure and body temperature. As their wrist comes into contact with the sensors, this data is displayed on the LCD screen on the cane’s clasp. Furthermore, the cane comes with a built-in navigator, which provides a help center with the user’s location when the cane’s SOS button is pressed.

Cane monitors users’ health as they walk [Springwise]

CScout: Recently Japan has taken a turn towards the DIY side of life with people opting to forgo spending on services and products seen as a luxury and instead attempting to create the same experience themselves within their homes. The “okomori beauty” trend, literally meaning “stay at home beauty” (a play on hikikomori, meaning a recluse who refuses to go outside), has sprang up in light of this as females opt to save money and attempt to bring the beauty parlor experience into their homes.

One of the industries looking to capitalize on this market is the electronics industry. A range of beauty appliances have sprung up which have been designed to replicate the expensive treatments usually received by specialist shops. The term “bijinki” (beauty appliance) has been adopted to describe facial beauty devices and Panasonic have emerged as a strong leader in the field. Offering a whole range of DIY beauty devices one of the most popular appliances is the Nano Care Night Steamer. The success of the product seems to be in its simplicity, simply plug in the device when you go to sleep and through a steam mist emitted throughout the night your skin becomes moisturized and toned for when you wake up. The site advertises it as giving a noticeable firmness to the skin when used over a 2 week period. Advertising benefits without any hard work are certainly appealing to the modern day busy consumer where they can literally beautify themselves in their sleep. The mist can also be infused with different esseential oils and used as an aromatherapy device to aid in relaxation.

Okomori Beauty -The DIY Beauty Trend [CScout]

The Roller Shaper is a new generation health and fitness system that trains, tones and shapes the body, by aiding lymphatic drainage, without the need for vigorous exercise. Lymphatic drainage massage by Roll Shaper boosts the flow of lymph around your body. Lymphatic drainage massage boosts the flow of lymph around your body, refreshing your immune system and flushing out toxins and kick-starting your metabolism. The Roll Shaper helping both men and women achieve fantastic results in weight loss, body shaping and in overall health performance.

Idea contributed by Kate. Thanks!

Taking functional maternity activewear to the next level, Me2Roo introduces its debut collection of effortlessly chic and stylish clothing designed to transition and embrace the body through all stages of pregnancy.  Created to make expectant mothers feel good about themselves through “color therapy,” the collection includes an assortment of flattering bottoms and vibrant athletic tops, complemented with layering pieces that are simply too chic to be limited purely to the gym.

Available in black/hot pink, purple/lavender and turquoise/aqua, bold colors were specifically chosen as “mood enhancers” by designer Maggie Zembruski. “Colors have long been recognized for their healing, inspiring and restorative powers,” explains Zembruski. “Me2Roo’s color combinations can help invigorate or calm moms experiencing the roller coaster emotions associated with pregnancy — and feel good when looking at themselves in the mirror.”

Me2Roo

TrendHunter: The 1Z from Continuum is a conceptual cigarette package designed to help smokers quit. The 1Z is designed to carry only one cigarette, two matches, and a stick of gum.

The idea behind the 1Z from Continuum is that smokers are bound to relapse, but if you give them only one cigarette to smoke per pack, it will increase their chances of quitting.

Single Cigarette Servings [TrendHunter]

Springwise: There’s been virtually no limit to the vending-machine innovations we’ve seen over the years, and in the latest spotting Swedish Green Cross is using its technology to sell non-prescription drugs. Perhaps even more interesting than its use of automatic vending however, is that it recently began running specials through location-based service Foursquare.

With nine vending machines in three Swedish cities, Green Cross sells a wide variety of non-prescription goods, from aspirin to condoms. Aiming to increase awareness of its offerings, the company just launched what may well be the world’s first Foursquare special for a vending machine. Specifically, when users check into a location on Foursquare that’s near a Green Cross machine, they automatically get alerted to any specials that are currently available there.

Pharmacy vending machine offers location-based specials through Foursquare [Springwise]

TrendHunter: For many diabetics life comes with baggage, but with the Gluco by Miguel Vaz, it can all be condensed into a pocket.

Aiming to arm users with a gauge and all of its accessories within a smaller package, this streamlined glucometer incorporates cutting-edge technology to achieve a compact and convenient handheld gadget. The Gluco by Miguel Vaz takes on the size and aesthetic of a cellphone, providing people with diabetes of any age and level of techie know-how an intuitive tool to monitor their health.

Sleek Blood Sugar Monitors [TrendHunter]

The BodyKey solution consists of two parts: a hand held device as well as a computer software program. So how does this thing work? Well, let’s say this morning you woke up at 6am and had a healthy breakfast like cereal and fruit. Then at 7:30am you went to the gym for a 45 minute workout, which consisted of weight training and running on the treadmill. Now fast forward about an hour and you can now see how your body is responding.

First, pick up the device and clip in a disposable test cartridge. Next, supply a small urine sample to the disposable test cartridge. Then, 45 seconds later the device has finished analyzing the sample. Now, you can simply hit the eject button on the device to cleanly dispose of the test cartridge. Now the fun starts!

The device will give you an immediate reading of how much fat you have just burned from your morning efforts. This information is key. Many people give up on their weight loss journey because they get frustrated due to lack of results. Our product will give you immediate feedback on your efforts letting you know that you are, in fact, making progress towards your weight loss goals. This positive psychological reinforcement is critical to helping people to stick with their program. Additionally, the computer software program is packed with useful tools that allow you to track your daily progress, help you select foods and exercise programs that are ideal for your body, and provide you with accurate forecasting so you will know how long it will take you to reach your goal.

Josh Spear: Check out this incredible Kickstarter project and support it if you can. I’ve just now become an Executive Producer. The bracelets shown here (and highlighted in the video) are made from scrap metal left from bomb scraps in Laos. During the Vietnam War, the US military dropped more bombs on supply routes in Laos than it did on all of Europe during World War II.

They can be purchased for only $15. The Kickstarter project is to create a film documenting the process, the journey, and the work behind the rehabilitation there.

The peaceBOMB bracelet is made from Vietnam War-era bombs by rural artisans in a part of Laos heavily afflicted by the US bombardment during the Secret War, 1964-1973. We want to create video content that shows how, since the 70s, the artisans have taken a constructive approach to the devastation of war by repurposing bomb metal into spoons and, now, bracelets.

Peace Bomb Bracelets [Josh Spear]

Fresh Plaza: Del Monte is shaking up the fresh cut section with a brand new range of Del Monte Fruitini bags, these will be sold exclusively by TESCO.

Crinkly Apple Slices, Scrummy Grapes, Juicy Pineapple “Slithers” and Luscious Melon Bites are intended for the younger market. This new product is aimed at the lunch box section which has risen 8%.

By selling exclusively at TESCO it also gives the superstore the opportunity to capture the market of parents looking for that healthy option for their kids.

The fruit packs have colourful images which appeal to kids, and so help adults in getting kids to eat more fruit.

Del Monte shake up the fresh cut sector [Fresh Plaza]

Cool Hunting: The company’s blue chip status comes from the traditional techniques of their Japanese brush-making heritage, which they put to use for a variety of styles. Made from natural hair—ranging from Blue Squirrel to weasel—their output includes the S100 Series, the Kokutan Series, which includes standard and portable brushes, and private label brushes for cosmetics companies.

Vetted for the highest quality hair, artisans make the brushes in Hakuhodo’s factory in Kumano, Japan using a traditional sculpting method that leaves the superfine hair tips intact for superior makeup application. After removing crooked and low-quality hairs from each brush with a special hand-sorting technique, the brush is sculpted into a mountain shape angled to follow the contours of a face. The result is a brush that not only performs but is easy to use, and (as Hakuhodo cites as their mission), “the perfect tool.”

Hakuhodo Brushes [Cool Hunting]

TrendCentral: The sight of iridescent bubbles has the power to transport us to an evocative landscape of grassy backyards, skinned knees and frozen Capri Suns. So it should come as no surprise that someone – in this case, venerated perfumer Francis Kurkdjian – has fused the juvenile flamboyance of bubbles with the elegance of artisanal fragrance. With his 7-year-old niece as his muse, Kurkdjian scented the bubbles in his newest creation, Les Bulles d’Agathe, with three different springtime bouquets (cold mint, cut grass and pear) intended to pique children’s interest in their sense of smell. To be honest, we think the bubbles’ sophistication in this series may go over kids’ heads, but we could certainly put them to good use after our next BBQ at which the resonant smell of burnt charcoal on a damp summer’s eve is less than intoxicating.

Heaven Scent [TrendCentral]

Coolest Gadgets: When women travel, their makeup case goes with them, wherever they’re getting ready, that case is typically right there. Having a simple case always makes getting ready far less chaotic. Then if you add your favorite music to the combination, it makes for a more soothing morning. This Stila case manages to give both by having speakers actually built into in order to hook up your MP3 player.
The Stila case has plenty of compartments to keep your makeup where you can actually find all of it. To top things off it actually includes some makeup, like foundation, eye shadow, lip glaze and convertible color for your lips as well as cheeks. Along with the speakers, it has a DVD beautytube and an instruction card. The entire case and kit is being sold for $69.99.
Stila Makeup Case comes with built-in speakers [Coolest Gadgets]