British scientists have developed a breathalyser that tells how much fat you are burning off at the gym.
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Exercise machines currently estimate when people have entered the "fat burning zone".
The breathalyser works by picking up minute changes in the levels of a molecule called acetone in people's breath, which is given off when the body starts to burn fat.
Gus Hancock, whose company Oxford Medical Diagnostics has developed the machine, said, "Acetone is a molecule that is produced by people who are burning fat rather than food."
"This is of great interest in sport studies and dietary studies to find out how people have worked out in the gym. That is an area we are trying to explore and we are trying to produce a monitor of how well you have burned off some body fat," the Telegraph quoted Hancock, as saying.
It works by using a detection method known as spectroscopy which measures the wavelengths of light that are absorbed by different molecules in a gas.
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The scientists are also aiming to develop a breath test would allow diabetes diagnosis without having to give blood.
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