More and more people are becoming obese, be it children or adults. It’s a big problem, and it’s caused by people eating to much junk food in combination with not exercising enough. Still, there are a lot of people taking more of an interest in fitness and their physical well-being, and fitness centric products are popping up all over the place, the HydroCoach and Nike iPod + Sport Kit are both great examples.

This next gadget falls into the same category, it’s a digital jump rope. No, it’s not one of those silly kid ones that makes a noise every time you start jumping, and it’s not pink. What it does do is track some of your workout data when you use it.

As far as jump ropes go, this one is pretty nice, there’s soft, foam handles, and the rope itself is pretty durable. The cool part is the digital counter built into one of the handles. That little screen will show you the number of repetitions, elapsed time, and your total calories burned.

Don’t think jump roping for exercise is silly, it’s a great cardiovascular exercise. You try doing 500 consecutive jumps, you probably won’t make it past 300.

You do need a weird battery for the jump rope, it’s called a CR 1032, which I imagine is one of those tiny circular ones, but don’t worry, one is included when you buy it. The actual length of the rope is 46 inches.

For those looking for a new type of exercise they can do just about anywhere, jumping rope is great. Might as well get yourself a Digital Jump Rope from The Discovery Channel Store considering they’re only $8.