TY - JOUR

T1 - Mobile Kinetic and Physiological Interaction for Persuasive Health

AU - Coulton, Paul

AU - Garcia Wylie, Carlos

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - Many industrialized societies are observing the effects of an increasingly sedentary lifestyle on the health of their populations and are actively seeking ways of encouraging physical activity to promote better health and well being that are relevant to their population lifestyles. The increasing ubiquity and sensor enhancement of mobile phones coupled with the emergence of personal heart rate monitors, aimed at dedicated amateur runners, means there is now a possibility to develop persuasive mobile health applications that promote personal well being through the use of real-time physiological data and kinetic interaction so that users can better reflect on their levels of physical activity and may ultimately persuade them to adopt a healthier lifestyle. In this paper we examine the effectiveness on player heart rate and usability of different combinations of physiological and kinetic interaction with a mobile ‘exergame’ which forms part of novel mobile persuasive health application. In addition to the exergame the application enables users to monitor, record and improve their fitness level through in built-in cardio-respiratory tests, location tracking for analyzing heart rate exertion over time and location. The results not only highlight the potential for encouraging greater physical activity in a novel and fun way but also highlight the potential benefits of using mobile phones for the health monitoring of patients outside the traditional hospital environment.

AB - Many industrialized societies are observing the effects of an increasingly sedentary lifestyle on the health of their populations and are actively seeking ways of encouraging physical activity to promote better health and well being that are relevant to their population lifestyles. The increasing ubiquity and sensor enhancement of mobile phones coupled with the emergence of personal heart rate monitors, aimed at dedicated amateur runners, means there is now a possibility to develop persuasive mobile health applications that promote personal well being through the use of real-time physiological data and kinetic interaction so that users can better reflect on their levels of physical activity and may ultimately persuade them to adopt a healthier lifestyle. In this paper we examine the effectiveness on player heart rate and usability of different combinations of physiological and kinetic interaction with a mobile ‘exergame’ which forms part of novel mobile persuasive health application. In addition to the exergame the application enables users to monitor, record and improve their fitness level through in built-in cardio-respiratory tests, location tracking for analyzing heart rate exertion over time and location. The results not only highlight the potential for encouraging greater physical activity in a novel and fun way but also highlight the potential benefits of using mobile phones for the health monitoring of patients outside the traditional hospital environment.

M3 - Journal article

VL - 1

SP - 29

EP - 34

JO - International Journal of Ubiquitous Computing (IJUC)

JF - International Journal of Ubiquitous Computing (IJUC)

SN - 2229-5925

IS - 1

ER -