September 21, 2009

1. Exercise Rewards CS 410 Presentation I September 21, 2009 1

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 2

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 3

4. Pressing Health Issues: Obesity [2] Percentage of Group Overweight Age(years) • 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” 4

5. 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” 5

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

7. 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” 7

8. 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 8

9. Closest Technological Competitors Encouraging Exercise: Dance Dance Revolution 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 • dancing game involving stepping on sequences of arrows • performing well unlocks new songs and difficulty levels • both arcade and home console editions 9

10. Other Competitors Promoting a Healthy Diet: My Cooking Coach 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 • recommends over 250 different healthy recipes • special mode inputs ingredient lists and suggests meals • game-play involves practicing in a virtual kitchen 10

11. Market Share and The Missing Link Wii Fit • 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 Dance Dance Revolution • 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: • highsales figures indicate that a technological solution in this realm can be marketable • competitors focus mainly on encouraging exercise solely through game play [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” 11

12. Exercise Rewards • 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 Light / Solar Sensor Motion Sensor / Accelerometer CPU and RAM Locking Software OR Locking Device 12

13. 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 13

14. Solution Analysis Benefits 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 14

15. 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 15

16. References Autoimmunity 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 16

17. References Continued 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 17