NutriColoring: designing a doodling toolkit to support daily self-reported dietary assessment among office workers.

This study was motivated by a desire to help working-age individuals gain a better understanding of their daily nutritional intakes with a new self-reported dietary assessment method because an unhealthy eating behavior increases the risks of developing chronic diseases. In this study, we present the design and evaluation of NutriColoring, a food diary that leverages doodling on sketches to report and reflect on everyday diet in the working context. Through a 2-week field study involving 18 participants, the usefulness of NutriColoring in facilitating dietary assessment was tested by making comparisons with the typical bullet diary method. Our quantitative results showed that NutriColoring provided users with improved dietary assessment experience and intrinsic motivations, with significantly low task frustration and high enjoyment. Because of the freedom and playfulness in reporting intakes at work, the interview findings showed a high acceptance of employing NutriColoring at work. This article is concluded with a set of implications for the design and development of a Doodling toolkit to support healthy eating behaviors among office workers.

The Effects of a Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Task on Elderly Subjects: An Experimental Study Using Multimodal Data.

Ageing populations are becoming a global issue. Against this background, the assessment and treatment of geriatric conditions have become increasingly important. This study draws on the multisensory integration of virtual reality (VR) devices in the field of rehabilitation to assess brain function in young and old people. The study is based on multimodal data generated by combining high temporal resolution electroencephalogram (EEG) and subjective scales and behavioural indicators reflecting motor abilities. The phase locking value (PLV) was chosen as an indicator of functional connectivity (FC), and six brain regions, namely LPFC, RPFC, LOL, ROL, LMC and RMC, were analysed. The results showed a significant difference in the alpha band on comparing the resting and task states in the younger group. A significant difference between the two states in the alpha and beta bands was observed when comparing task states in the younger and older groups. Meanwhile, this study affirms that advancing age significantly affects human locomotor performance and also has a correlation with cognitive level. The study proposes a novel accurate and valid assessment method that offers new possibilities for assessing and rehabilitating geriatric diseases. Thus, this method has the potential to contribute to the field of rehabilitation medicine.

Short and Long-Term Innovations on Dietary Behavior Assessment and Coaching: Present Efforts and Vision of the Pride and Prejudice Consortium.

Overweight, obesity and cardiometabolic diseases are major global health concerns. Lifestyle factors, including diet, have been acknowledged to play a key role in the solution of these health risks. However, as shown by numerous studies, and in clinical practice, it is extremely challenging to quantify dietary behaviors as well as influencing them via dietary interventions. As shown by the limited success of 'one-size-fits-all' nutritional campaigns catered to an entire population or subpopulation, the need for more personalized coaching approaches is evident. New technology-based innovations provide opportunities to further improve the accuracy of dietary assessment and develop approaches to coach individuals towards healthier dietary behaviors. Pride & Prejudice (P&P) is a unique multi-disciplinary consortium consisting of researchers in life, nutrition, ICT, design, behavioral and social sciences from all four Dutch Universities of Technology. P&P focuses on the development and integration of innovative technological techniques such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, conversational agents, behavior change theory and personalized coaching to improve current practices and establish lasting dietary behavior change.

Why Exercise at Work: Development of the Office Exercise Behavior Determinants Scale.

The constant increase in work pressure and the penetration of labor-saving technologies have significantly reduced physical activity in office-based work routines, threatening employees' physical and mental well-being. Encouraging physical exercises at the office seems a potential solution. However, while there is a wealth of research into occupational health and workplace exercise promotion, little is known about which factors can influence the engagement of physical exercises in the office context. It is crucial to understand these determinants, in order to support the design of office exercise promoting intervention. This study explored the determinants of office workers' exercise behavior by proposing and developing the Office Exercise Behavior Determinants (OEBD) scale based on existing behavioral and environmental research. The OEBD scale was assessed through an online questionnaire study involving 479 office workers. The results indicated that four factors (Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Motivation, Social Environment, and Work Environment) contribute to office workers' exercise behavior. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis of our obtained data provided evidence for the internal validity of the OEBD scale. Thereby, this research can support increased office exercise with valid measurements for behavioral determinants.

LightSit: An Unobtrusive Health-Promoting System for Relaxation and Fitness Microbreaks at Work.

Physical inactivity and chronic stress at work increase the risks of developing metabolic disorders, mental illnesses, and musculoskeletal injuries, threatening office workers' physical and psychological well-being. Although several guidelines and interventions have been developed to prevent theses subhealth issues, their effectiveness and health benefits are largely limited when they cannot match workday contexts. This paper presents LightSit, a health-promoting system that helps people reduce physically inactive behaviors and manage chronic stress at work. LightSit comprises a sensor mat that can be embedded into an office chair for measuring a user's sitting posture and heart rate variability and a lighting display that is integrated into a monitor stand to present information unobtrusively, facilitating fitness and relaxation exercises during microbreaks. Following the showroom approach, we evaluated LightSit during a public exhibition at Dutch Design Week 2018. During the eight days of the exhibition, we observed more than 500 sessions of experiences with healthy microbreaks using our prototype. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 50 participants who had office-based jobs and had experienced LightSit. Our qualitative findings indicated the potential benefits of LightSit in facilitating health-promoting behaviors during office work. Based on the insights learned from this study, we discuss the implications for future designs of interactive health-promoting systems.