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A social robot-based platform for health behavior change toward prevention of childhood obesity

Andreas Triantafyllidis1, Anastasios Alexiadis1, Dimosthenis Elmas1

  • 1Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), 57001 Thessaloníki, Greece.

Universal Access in the Information Society
|October 10, 2022
PubMed

Insights

A new social robot platform helps prevent childhood obesity by assessing behaviors and setting personalized health goals. This innovative tool showed an 80% success rate in helping children achieve their weekly health targets.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Public Health Technology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a significant public health concern, exacerbated by lifestyle changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Increased risk of obesity in children necessitates novel preventive strategies and tools.
  • Existing approaches may not adequately address the complex behavioral factors contributing to childhood obesity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce and evaluate a social robot-based platform for childhood obesity prevention.
  • To assess the platform's ability to screen behaviors, collect self-reports, and recommend individualized health goals.
  • To determine the feasibility and effectiveness of a technology-driven intervention for improving children's health behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a social robot platform with interactive motivational strategies and tangible object-based self-reporting.
  • Integrated the platform using a microservice architecture within a multi-component system.
  • Conducted an experimental study with 30 children (aged 9-12) in a school setting.

Main Results:

  • The social robot platform demonstrated high acceptance among children.
  • An 80% success rate was achieved in children meeting their weekly health goals recommended by the robot.
  • Preliminary evidence suggests feasibility and potential for improving health behaviors.

Conclusions:

  • The social robot-based platform shows promise as an innovative tool for childhood obesity prevention.
  • The platform's interactive and personalized approach may effectively engage children in health behavior change.
  • Further long-term studies are needed to validate these preliminary findings and assess broader impact.

Keywords:
Child healthcareChildhood obesityChild–robot interactionHealth behavior changeSocial robots

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