BALANCE@HOME

"Exploring home-based support systems for promotion of food, nutritional knowledge and personal choice."

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Combining work, social obligations and caring for a family in a balanced way has become an important worry of a growing group of European citizens The proposed project will help European citizens to obtain consumer solutions for a hassle-free guidance towards a balanced lifestyle. The project focuses on methods for inferring eating habits in an unobtrusive way and seeks to use this information to provide situated feedback on meal planning and preparation. Throughout all phases of the project a user-centered development (UCD) will be adopted. Since the project is targeting to change people’s behaviour, it is seen as vital to take user needs as the starting point for technology development. The main challenge will be to create solutions that give situated feedback in an enjoyable and engaging manner, leveraging social networking and the collaborative internet (i.e. Web 2.0) to affect behaviour change. The knowledge exchanged and developed in Balance@Home will strengthen both the academic and industrial sectors with knowledge on nutrition assessment, situated assistance for meal planning and preparation and the use of social networking to promote healthy eating. The partnership between Philips Research and Newcastle University will benefit from knowledge exchange in a number of fields of inquiry. Both partners have significant experience with the development of technology, this expertise is complementary, with Philips having a significant understanding of the development of consumer technologies (and the associated methods) and architectures for pervasive environments, and Newcastle University developing novel design methodologies and techniques to engage in experience-centred design and to exploit new findings in multimodal cognition. Newcastle University will also contribute nutritional expertise and external knowledge will be introduced to the partnership through the recruitment of an external expert in the social psychology of behaviour change.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

The rise in obesity and its medical consequences are a serious public health concern throughout Europe. An EU-funded project explored the factors that influence obesity and some technologies to help families lead healthier lifestyles.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Lifestyle-related diseases are both a health and economic issue in Europe. While the benefits of a healthy lifestyle are known, there are several barriers to putting the knowledge to action. The project BALANCE@HOME aimed to better understand the barriers to leading a healthier lifestyle and to develop technologies that both empower and guide people in leading healthier lives.

The first step was to understand peoples' current nutrition habits. A user-centred approach was implemented to explore how people decide to eat, what factors influence that decision and how people could be supported in making healthier choices.

In one study, peoples' grocery shopping habits were followed. The results showed that not adequately preparing for the shop often contributed to less healthy food choices.

Another study explored barriers to eating healthy meals. This study found that the social context, the lack of support from family members, and family conventions and traditions often prevented people from making healthy decisions.

With this knowledge in mind, BALANCE@HOME then moved on to the next phase: developing technologies linked to the kitchen and home that could help people lead healthier lifestyles. Solutions targeted obstacles such as cooking skills and family meal planning as a way to provide information and address the social aspect of health and wellness.

One technology piloted a sensor that monitored healthy cooking competence. Another tested a meal planning application developed to support family decision making while integrating tips and information about healthy eating. The application engages the entire family and integrates family support into the solution. Users responded positively to both interventions.

Technological interventions that encourage people to make good decisions in an unobtrusive manner may begin to tackle the obesity health care concern. Moving forward, technology can be put to use to promote healthy lifestyles.