Taking the "Self" out of "Self Control"

Before I go off on this rant, let me inform anyone who has never met me that I'm a fat guy. At 6'4" I weigh in just under 300lbs. Thanks to my height I carry the weight fairly well but most of it is in my stomach area, which is bad for the heart, so I know I need to work on that. Anyway, rant time...

As previously stated, I'm a big dude. I wasn't always big though. Growing up I was always tall for my age and that constant growing kept me very thin for most of my childhood. As I got older and my growing slowed, my eating habits carried on and I started gaining size. By the end of college, and pretty much ever since, I've been about 50+ pounds overweight for my height.

Looking back on the period of time where I went from skinny to fat, I blame nobody but myself. I was the one eating fast food multiple times a day to avoid having to cook. I was the one eating snacks while playing video games and watching TV. I was the one who didn't exercise as I should have. It wasn't McDonald's fault that I got fat eating greasy burgers or any other establishment or advertising campaign.

Now to finally get to my point, there's a new fork hitting the market called the HAPIfork (or Smart Fork). It weighs the bites of food you are eating and beeps if you are eating too much or eating it too fast. I think this could be a great invention for kids. Schools could use them to teach proper eating habits and even parents could use them to help curb heavy snaking after school. BUT I think in the hands of adults, it's just going to be another way to shirk responsibility.

By having a fork that tells you to stop eating so much, people no longer have to pay attention to what they are cramming in their mouths (which, honestly, is 95% of the problem now). Just grab your handy Smart Fork and stuff your face until it beeps and tells you to pull back.

Maybe I'm being overly cynical though. Self control is a big problem in the US and maybe having a little reminder here and there is what some people need to get back on the right track. If you're willing to drop the $99 when it hits stores in April, I guess we'll find out.

Click here for more info on the HAPIfork.