I HADN’T looked at the strategically placed advert properly on the way to the gym, but it soon found its way on to Facebook.
The latest gadget to measure how fast you can run. The type of advert that puts most people off taking up something that anyone can do with some basic advice and a bit of practice.
An image of a man wearing said gadget with the caption “running faster.”
A separate ad shows a woman wearing the tracking watch, accompanied by the words: “Burning fat faster.”
On the one hand, I was genuinely surprised that any company would be foolish enough to peddle such a sexist message.
However, on the flip side, there was a part of me that barely reacted.
There is still a perception – both real and imagined – that women exercise simply to lose weight, despite the reality that adjusting your diet is a far more effective way to achieve this.
Doing more exercise, particularly running, will make you hungrier. If you do not factor this in, the only pounds you will be shedding are in your purse.
If you are a regular exerciser, or suddenly increase your gym sessions, many women, deep down, will secretly believe you are doing it for aesthetic reasons.
It is not unusual to be told you have lost weight after your take up running, for example, even if you have not actually lost any weight.
However, I am definitely in the camp of those who use exercise, mainly to stay sane and mostly to keep my heart and lungs healthy. Any other benefit to my body is a boost of course.
Writer Lena Dunham said recently she was embracing the gym  for the first time because “It ain’t about the ass, it’s about the brain.”
The creator of US comedy series Girls said she had spent 16 years “self-
medicating” for obsessive compulsive disorder but found that exercise helped her manage her condition more effectively.
 There is no mention of weight loss in her message.
And so, it was a little depressing to see a new advert promoting the message that women want to run faster to burn more calories rather than to improve a personal best.
However, I’m glad I took
a little time to check the
facts about this ad for the latest TomTom tracking watch.
It turns out there are two versions of each.
The man in the alternative image wants to run faster to burn more fat. Women, just like men, strive for faster 10k times and not to fit into a dress.