Physical activity with digital companions

Abstract

While a majority of adults in industrialized countries do not exercise frequently enough to sustain physical health, games with an exertive interface - exergames - have been proposed as vehicles to increase activity levels. After a brief discussion of my background, I report on fundamental findings from studies conducted by interaction designers, social and computer scientists, and medical professionals whose work has responded to the crisis in physical activity levels. I give an overview of my proposed mixed methods research design, and discuss how I can both contribute and learn from approaches that can successfully support strong study findings.