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Updated: Oct 24, 2025

Concept Development and Use of an Automated Food Intake and Eating Behavior Assessment Method
Published on: February 19, 2021
Supporting eating behaviour of community-dwelling older adults: co-design of an embodied conversational agent
Lean L Kramer1, Marije Blok2,3, Lex van Velsen4,5
1Consumption and Healthy Lifestyles group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
In order to support community-dwelling older adults with healthy eating behaviours, Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs) may be an effective and engaging medium. However, ECAs have not yet been found to be capable of engendering behaviour change, which is partly attributed to the absence of a match with users' practices, needs and preferences. Hence, we describe a co-design process with older adults that informs both the content and the appearance of an ECA. Data was gathered through three consecutive iterations of co-design sessions with two groups of community-dwelling older adults in the Netherlands. Prior to the first session, participants completed a seven-day lifestyle diary. This study adds knowledge on the meaning of healthy eating, as well as on specific barriers to, and opportunities for, giving advice using an ECA in this target group. Furthermore, we translate this knowledge into general advice for designing an ECA in the context of health behaviour change, while reflecting on a co-design process with older adults.
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