TMI

Right on the heels of receiving the results of my health check-up in the mail today, I read this story in the Korea Times about a toilet that can perform some of those functions for you, while you perform your own, uh, functions:

The toilet bowl invented by students from the Kun Shan University and Southern Taiwan University measures the user's weight, body fat and heart rate, TV channel TVBS reported.
The measurement, taking only 30 seconds, begins as soon as a person sits. A printer on top of the water tank behind the bowl prints measurements.

Personally, I think it should measure weight at the end of the procedure, so to speak.

Korea has its own hi-tech toilets (just go to YouTube and search on "Korean toilet") but nothing that takes your vital statistics.

Speaking of which (vital statistics, that is), I spent about an hour with my phone's dictionary translating what I could from the four-page medical report. Mine turned out to be not so bad: as I mentioned in the previous post, my blood pressure has come down a bit, but is still high; cholesterol is good, blood sugar normal, triglycerides fine, liver function normal (go figure), brain normal (what?)

There were several things I couldn't interpret, but the only thing they bothered to translate into English was this:

You have an inflammation on duodenum, so would be better not to take somewhat spicy or salty food from now on. We recommend you would rather visit gastroenterologist if any symptom of stomach such as heartburn, belching, postprandial pain.

I already avoid salty foods, and I doubt it is even possible to survive in Korea if you don't eat spicy. And I wouldn't want to. Besides, spices are a healthy way to get good flavor in food without resorting to butter, cream, oil and other unhealthy choices. Furthermore, I practically never have any of the symptoms described.

Of course, I am continuing to hit the gym regularly; plus some alumnus of Young-il Go made a gift to the teachers of a pair of gloves (very handy now it's cold) and a little clip-on pedometer. "For your health, for your health!" Principal Jun enthused when he gave it to me. Based on three days' data, I average about 7.5 km per day, most of it to and from school, of course. That's around 500 calories burned.

Health nut? Not yet. Total slob whose only exercise is walking to and from car? Not any more.