On Trend

trendwatching.com scans the globe for the latest emerging consumer trends. Here, Henry Mason, head of the company's research and analysis, tells us what to watch this month.

HEALTH DIY

Regardless of whether you're the kind of person who puts off putting up shelves or not, there's one kind of DIY that everyone seems to be into.

Do-it-yourself health is a growing trend, with hypochondriacs flooding the internet with their symptom searches and a health-app deluge in the smartphone market - it's estimated there will be 13,000 of these by mid-2012.

For those who like their rock music heavy, the Play It Down app emits high-frequency noises to help people test how "old" their ears are, depending on whether they can hear the higher-frequency ranges (playitdown.org).

On a more serious note, the Skin Scan app monitors moles and alerts users to danger signs, tracks changes and suggests a trip to the doctor if necessary (skinscanapp.com).

Then there's UP, a tracking wristband from Jawbone, which monitors movement, sleep and eating patterns. It can be set to vibrate when someone's been inactive for too long and set challenges to motivate users to healthy lifestyles (jawbone.com).

With all these available, doctors may well be left twiddling their thumbs. They might even have a chance to get those shelves up.

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