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Summary

Human-Centered Design

Date: 08 August 2020

“Americans Face an Increasing Problem with Obesity.

Using Technology, we can overcome this problem as a nation”

Obesity is a medical condition where the body mass increases than the healthy level prescribed by doctors and medical experts. There are many reasons for obesity but the prime being intake of a high amount of food which is more than the body needs. Other reasons include genetics, food addiction, engineered junk food, certain medications, physical inactivity, frequency of eating, and a diet high in carbohydrates. Obesity is one of the biggest medical conditions in the United States. Over 70 million adults in the United States are suffering from Obesity and an additional 99 million people are over-weight in which the proportion of men is higher than women. According to recent statistics over 39.6% of adults in the United States are obese (Coons & Duncan, 2013). To deal with this growing problem, technology can be employed. An easy solution is a sensor-based tracking system for calorie intake and the requirement of the body. This can be achieved through an inbuilt feature in smartphones where a record can be kept on how much calories are being taken on a delayed basis and how much is required based on the sex, height, weight, and medical conditions of each individual. This can be offered through a mobile application as well where the app also records the physical activity undertaken by the person on a daily basis and presents daily calculations on how much more physical activity is required. This can be connected with a reminder system on continuously motivating the user for more physical activities (Marešová, 2019). A brief business model canvas for the proposed mobile application for curing obesity through technology is presented below:

Key Partners:

Key partners for this prosed idea will be healthcare experts, application developers, mobile phone manufacturers, and representatives from regulatory bodies to ensure that there is no violation of personal rights.  The data must be factual and be able to advertised correctly to gain prospective users attention.

Key Activities:

Key activities for the senor-based tracking mobile application will be to record the intake of calories, record blood pressure, sugar level, and the required number of calories.  A hybrid of gyroscopic data mixed with GPS will be able to determine actual physical activity vs. riding in a car automatically without user input. This will also record the physical activities of the user and match it with the required physical action. This way the application will generate a comparison and will remind the user through notifications to reach the required level of physical activities. An additional user enabled feature might even be disabling the phone until a certain amount of an exercise is complete.

Value position:

The core value delivered by the proposed mobile application is to introduce a lifestyle that supports healthy living and provides a cure for obesity. Are goal is to reach the average person who is experiencing tigher closes and does not know where to begin to correct the situation. This solution does not require any medications or a hardcore workout. Rather this is possible through simple changes in lifestyle through controlling food intake and increasing physical activity (Forman & Goldstein, 2016).

Customer relationship:

Customer relationships are not very difficult as the customers are used to the mobile application and tracking their daily lives through their mobile phones. The only need will be to convince them to use their mobile phones to model their lives into a healthy lifestyle. Once they begin using the application we will make every effort in the application requiring minimal effort to achive goals of weighloss.

Customer segments:

The targeted customers will be those segments of society where the obesity rate is high.  Specifical looking into the population with higher than average Body Mass Index (BMI).   It will include the adults where the obesity rate is highest and possible reach people predisposed to weight gain from underlying medical conditions.  It will also cater to the needs of older people. The segmentation will be based on age and physical lifestyle (Gilmore, 2014).

Key resources:

The key resources needed are expert opinion form medical and healthcare experts, skilled mobile app developers, and enough resources for marketing.  Having accurate data that will produce real results for the users will encourage more customers.  The more effort in the design and testing of the simplistic yet elegant use of the application will also build the customer base.

Distribution channel:

The distribution channel is not conventional for this proposed idea.  The way of the future is utilizing the spread of digital content.   The mobile application can be downloaded from the Apple store or Google store for iPhone and Android phones respectively.  The application can also be marketed as a web based product as well without having to download files for the more conservative user.  Anywhere digital content is available this can be marketed appropratly.

Cost structure:

The proposed idea does not charge high prices from the users. The basic version of the application monitoring the food intake and calorie intake and matching it with food requirements will not charge any cost but the advanced version with full workout ad food routines will charge a monthly fee (Kozak, 2018).

Revenue stream:

There could be multiple revenue streams for the proposed idea. Two basic revenue streams could be a monthly subscription for the premium accounts for the workout routines and food intake routine. The second model for revenue generation can be an advertisement.

References

Coons, M. J., & Duncan, J. (2013). Technology Interventions to Curb Obesity: A Systematic Review of the Current Literature. Curr Cardiovasc Risk Rep, 120–134.

Forman, E. M., & Goldstein, S. (2016). Could technology help us tackle the obesity crisis? Future Sci OA, 1-23.

Gilmore, L. A. (2014). The Technology Boom: A new era in Obesity Management. SAGE journal, 22-27.

Kozak, A. T. (2018). Technology-based interventions for weight management: current randomized controlled trial evidence and future directions. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 99-111.

Marešová. (2019). Management of Overweight and Obesity: Technology-Based Interventions Among Generation Y. SAGE journal, 1-34.