Improving the Sense of Progress in A Weight-Loss Application for Families With Obese Children

Abstract: The societal problem of pediatric obesity is growing in Sweden with more patients receiving pediatric treatment while the treatment measures have not improved to match the increase. This exploratory study examines a mobile application aiming to improve treatment for pediatric obesity. The study will evaluate the current application through the lens of HCI with a focus on self-care and will be based on digital behavior change intervention (DBCI), persuasive systems, and playful user-centered design (UCD), with design recommendations stated based on the evaluation. User-centered design is a design process involving end-users in the design process, the users were involved through semi-structured interviews. User-centered design is a large part of the study with user input laying the foundation for new design recommendations. Users thought that the application would benefit from having more short-term goals to boost motivation. Furthermore, a heuristic analysis was done to get an expert view on the user interface. The results were promising and indicated some potential improvements for the application, one suggested improvement was to provide more positive feedback to boost motivation. The thesis discusses how more visualization of data might have the potential to both boost motivation and result in a more playful user experience.