September 21, 2009 1

Exercise RewardsCS 410 Presentation I

2

Colin Courtney

4th year Computer Science student

Modeling & Simulation minor

game programmer for the iSTART program led by Dr. Levinstein

avid game programmer and game player

3

Outline Public Health Issues

Obesity

Vitamin D Deficiency

A Common Issue

Technological Competitors

Market Analysis

Introducing: Exercise Rewards

Implementation

Solution Analysis

Conclusion: A Complex Problem

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Pressing Health Issues: Obesity

2-5 6-11 12-19 20 +

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Percentage of

GroupOverweight

Age(years)

[2]

in the CDC's 2005 – 2006 study, over 67% of adults 20 and over qualified as

either overweight or obese [7]

Dr. William Dietz, director of the CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity:

“... too many young children are obese, and ... we must not become complacent in our efforts

to reduce obesity among young children” [10]

[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “Obesity and Overweight”[7] Parker-Pope “Hint of Hope as Child Obesity Rate Hits Plateau”[10] Stern “Preschool obesity rate stable at 1 in 7: U.S. Study”

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Associated Health Problems:Obesity

Associated Content: “Obesity is dangerous as it causes health problems in children. Obese children

can develop liver diseases such as hepatitis, cirrhosis or liver failure, liver and gall bladder disease

due to having extra fat on the liver. Obese children can develop Type II diabetes in childhood or

early in adulthood. They can also develop joint issues such as early arthritis and weakened knees

and feet from carrying extra weight. In addition, obese children can have breathing problems

which can lead to sleep apnea and asthma” [4]

Conference Board of Canada: “Physical activity, healthy eating, weight loss, not smoking,

and stress reduction may help delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. One study

showed that people at risk of type 2 diabetes were able to reduce their risk by 58 per cent by

exercising moderately for 30 minutes a day and by losing 5–7 per cent of their body weight” [11]

[4] Hermitt “Facts About Obesity in Children” [11] The Conference Board of Canada “Health: Mortality Due to Diabetes”

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Pressing Health Issues: Vitamin D Deficiency

joint study performed by the Division of Adolescent/ Young Adult Medicine at the

Children's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School found that over 42% of patients

had a vitamin D deficiency [3]

USA Today: “According to the National Center for Health Statistics, as many as 36% of

Americans are vitamin D deficient” [5]

in the same study, it was found that over 40% of infants/toddlers and 42% of adolescents

were vitamin D deficient [5]

[6]

[3] Gordon CM “Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine”[5] Marcus “Adults still risk vitamin D deficiency”[6] McGee “Medical Encyclopedia: Vitamin D deficit”

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Associated Health Problems: Vitamin D Deficiency

a lack of vitamin D can not only lead to bone and muscle problems, but also very serious illnesses

such as cancer, high blood pressure, depression, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes [9]

new studies have shown that the common practice of using supplements to make up for low

levels of vitamin D can lead to immune-system issues and worsen existing diseases caused by

not absorbing enough vitamin D [1]

[1] Autoimmunity Research Foundation “Vitamin D Deficiency Study Raises New Questions About Disease And Supplements”[9] Stein “Vitamin D Deficiency Called Major Health Risk”

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A Common Issue

these statistics underly one major societal issue:

a deficiency in physical well-being

three main branches to the problem:

nutritional, physiological, and psychological competitors counter mainly physiological problem,

while psychological problem is secondary

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Closest Technological Competitors

Preventing/ Reversing Obesity: Wii Fit

includes various cardiovascular exercises and

Yoga

more games unlocked through exercise

user's BMI (body mass index) charted and critiqued

by cartoon version of Wii Fit board

Encouraging Exercise:Dance Dance Revolution

dancing game involving stepping on

sequences of arrows

performing well unlocks new songs

and difficulty levels

both arcade and home console editions

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Other Competitors

Countering Vitamin D Deficiency: Boktai

hand-held game that stores sunlight in

order to fight vampires

Boktai often requires user to stay

outside in order to play

not popular outside of Japan

no charting or encouragement of progress

Promoting a Healthy Diet:My Cooking Coach

recommends over 250 different healthy

recipes

special mode inputs ingredient lists and

suggests meals

game-play involves practicing in a virtual kitchen

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Market Share and The Missing Link

Wii Fit total sales (as of February 2009): 5.3 million [8]

at $90 per game, total gross profit equals $477 million

with Wii console about $250, total cost comes to

at least $340 to play game

high sales figures indicate that a technological solution in

this realm can be marketable

competitors focus mainly on encouraging exercise solely through game play

over 10 million home console versions sold worldwide [12]

at about $50 for the game and mat, gross profit is

$500 million from home console versions alone

Bottom Line:

Wii Fit

Dance Dance Revolution

[8] Snider “'Wii Fit' in good health, vaulting to top of video game sales charts”[12] Thomson Reuters “Music, Video Game Industries Locked in Mutual Embrace”

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Exercise Rewards

Light / Solar Sensor

Motion Sensor / Accelerometer

CPU and RAM

Locking Software OR Locking Device

rewards not only physical activity

but also outside activity

wrist-band with device composed

of light sensor, motion sensor, and

CPU for processing

readings from sensors are inputs to

an algorithm which determines how

many 'credits' to award

devices with locking software will

be locked but will unlock for a certain

period of time if enough credits are

earned

optional locking devices provide

simple hardware that unlocks when

enough credits are earned

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How Would This Be Possible?Actual Implementation Using Commercial Materials

pictured from left to right: micro-controller with memory ($35), light sensor ($9),

accelerometer ($33), and battery pack ($22)

components aren't expensive, but require technical assembly

no cost for custom software for computing devices, but may require further technical

expertise

Rapid Prototype Using Lego Mindstorms

more expensive at about $280

may still require custom software to communicate with device

however, includes all necessary components to prototype solution

within required time frame

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Solution AnalysisBenefits Issues

caters to increasingly health-conscious

parents

provides a reward system that encourages

children and teens to play outside

discourages cheating through a parental

override that is required to activate the device

whenever it is taken off

manual override allows parents to add 'credits'

to supplement other good behaviors

encourages the development of positive

behaviors and habits

teaches children and teens to manage their

assets as well as their activities

synthesizes cheap, existing technologies

in a new way

locking devices cannot control

access to contents after unlocking

communication and transferring credits

between the main device and the locking

software / devices may be difficult

crafty teens may still be able to tamper

with the device

parents must be able to install and

operate locking software

children and teens must be able to

operate locks/locking software for paying

'credits'

does not prevent child from using friends'

electronic devices

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A Complex Problem

increasing use of technology has contributed to health

problems

however, a technological solution can be used to reverse this

trend

most solutions try a short-term, physiological approach without

much reward

by creating a reward system that encourages better

management of technology rather than circumventing it,

better habits can be formed

teaching children and teens good life habits through rewards

can help to improve society's future well-being

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ReferencesAutoimmunity Research Foundation (2008, January 27). Vitamin D Deficiency Study Raises

New Questions About Disease And Supplements. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 16, 2009,

from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125223302.htm

Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. (2009, April 2). Obesity and Overweight. Retrieved

September 16, 2009, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm

Gordon CM, et al. (2004, June). Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 158(6), 531-537. Abstract retrieved

from PubMed.

Hermitt, A. (2009, June 2). Facts About Obesity in Children. Associated Content. Retrieved September 16, 2009, from

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1789862/facts_about_obesity_in_children.html?cat=25

Marcus, Mary Brophy. (2008, June 16). Adults still risk vitamin D deficiency. USA Today. Retrieved

September 16, 2009, from http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-06-16-vitamin-d-side_N.htm

McGee, William, M.D., M.H.A. (2007, January 2). Medical Encyclopedia: Vitamin D deficit.

Retrieved September 16, 2009, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/18111.htm

Parker – Pope, Tara. (2008, May 28). Hint of Hope as Child Obesity Rate Hits Plateau. The New York Times.

Retrieved September 16, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/health/research/28obesity.html?_r=1

Snider, Mike. (2009, February 12). 'Wii Fit' in good health, vaulting to top of video game sales charts. USA Today.

Retrieved September 16, 2009, from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2009-02-12-video-game-sales_N.htm

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Stein, Rob. (2004, May 21). Vitamin D Deficiency Called Major Health Risk. The Washington Post.

Retrieved September 16, 2009, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43711-2004May20.html

Stern, Andrew. (2009, July 24). Preschool obesity rate stable at 1 in 7: U.S. Study. Thomson Reuters.

Retrieved September 16, 2009, from

http://in.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idINTRE56M5RN20090723pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

The Conference Board of Canada. (2008, October). Health: Mortality Due to Diabetes. Retrieved

September 16, 2009, from http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/details/health/mortality-diabetes.aspx#_ftn10

Thomson Reuters. (2007, January 12). Music, Video Game Industries Locked in Mutual Embrace. Fox News.

Retrieved September 16, 2009, from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243459,00.html

References Continued