A Social Robot-Based Platform for Prevention of Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a major public health concern since it is associated with obesity during adulthood and the occurrence of diseases such as diabetes and cancer. In this paper we present a platform for childhood obesity prevention, which is based on interactive games played between a social robot and the child. The interactions between the robot and the child occur within four distinct stages: a) Familiarization with the robot, b) education and knowledge assessment (e.g., for a balanced diet), c) behavioural data collection & empowerment, and d) personalized goal-setting. The platform was evaluated in terms of usability with 10 participants achieving a System Usability Score (SUS) of 93.8. Overall, our results show the feasibility of the adopted approach and the potential of social robots in playing a major role for promoting healthy behaviours and preventing childhood obesity.