Technology inspires self-tracking devotees to chart daily lives in excruciating detail

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This photo from video taken Oct. 9, 2013 shows Tim Davis in Beaver Falls, Pa. Davis uses several apps and three wearable devices to track his physical activity, vitals and calorie intake. When Davis tipped the scales at 318 pounds two years ago, he bought a Fitbit gadget to track his physical activity and the Lose It! app on his phone to track calories. He bought a Wi-Fi-enabled scale that published his daily weight on his Twitter feed and turned to other apps to track his pulse, blood pressure, daily moods and medications. At one point, Davis said he was using 15 different apps and gadgets, which he said helped him drop 64 pounds by that following year. (AP Photo/Noel Waghorn)

WASHINGTON – The technology industry is tapping into the growing market of people who want to chart their daily lives in excruciating detail.

That means gadgets and mobile applications able to measure everything from calories burned to how often a baby eats, sleeps or needs a fresh diaper.

Tim Davis of Beaver, Pa., says he used some 15 devices to track every aspect of his health. A scale tweeted out his weight and an app tracked his moods.

Davis says the technology inspired him to lose more than 60 pounds, though he gained much of it back as soon as he stopped tracking his daily habits.

Researchers are taking notice of people such as Davis — and whether self-tracking devices could be used to improve public health or the environment.

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