SmartLife smart clothing gamification to promote energy-related behaviours among adolescents

Abstract

Inactivity and high sedentary behavior among adolescents are main societal problems. Unhealthy lifestyles place a large burden on society and promoting healthy lifestyles is thus key for health, wellness and economic prosperity. These non-communicable diseases and unhealthy lifestyles furthermore occur more often among lower socio-economic groups, which indicates a need for healthy lifestyle promotion programs to help reduce health inequalities and improve social inclusion. The SmartLife project aims to create a mobile game that requires lower body movement, and is personalized by physiological feedback measured by smart textiles. Personalization via smart textiles can present a game challenge achievable for the current fitness level of the player and can adjust this based on activity levels during game play. This approach can improve current exergames to achieve a higher level of intensity in physical activity, needed to create a health impact, and can do so considering what is achievable for the person and hence reduce drop-out and injury risks.