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Could A 'Smart Bra' Alert Women That They're Overeating?

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Researchers have announced that they may have the answer to overeating, and it all may be connected to a new bra for women.

As CBS 2's Jessica Schneider reported Wednesday, parties abound and stress mounts during the holiday season, and we often munch and crunch at brunch, lunch and all the times in between.

"You're busy. you're burning the candle at both ends. You're running around with children working long hours," said registered dietitian and nutritionist Elisa Zied. "So all of these things make you want to settle down with some comfort food."

But what if what you wear could track your moods, and warn you about that emotional overeating?

Researchers at Microsoft say the answer, at least for some women, is inside a new high-tech bra that can tell when you are feeling stressed and more likely to binge.

"It's not quite electric shock therapy, but it sounds like it's close to it," Zied said.

Researchers said it is really quite simple. The bra monitors the heart rate, detects emotional stress, and can then send an alert to a smartphone letting you know you probably are not really hungry.

"It might help some people not to overeat," said Lorine Davis of the Upper East Side. "I would like to try that. I would like to lose some weight."

"If it helps with overeating, yeah; I mean. it's sort of hard to know when you're finished eating, except when you start hating yourself, of course," said Susana Pereyra of Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Asked whether she would ever wear a smart bra, Sophie Menan of New Rochelle said: "I don't know. There's something a bit invasive about that though. I don't know. I'd rather eat naturally. I don't want technology telling me what to eat."

For now, though, it is all just on the drawing boards.

The stress-busting bras used up so much battery life in the trials that they only lasted four hours.

Microsoft also hopes to develop a version for men before they go on the market.

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