b-SLIM - A multi-source online super coach for sustainable weight loss

From 01-04-2014 to 31-03-2016

Description

The influcence of ICT in online (digital health) coaching with respect to monitoring, datacaptation, data management and organisation of coaching feedback is increasinglyimportant. A variety of powerful sensors and technologies that can be used for self-trackingare constantly emerging.

This fits the trend of “the quantified self” or how we increasinglytrack our own health parameters by mobile devices. Especially devices that measurephysical activity – such as pedometers, gyroscopes, etc…have recently experienced a surgein popularity. Most of these tools are quite generic and intend for their users to adopt a“healthier lifestyle”.

However, despite its obvious advantages, a “multi-modal” weight loss coach, integrating allrelevant weight loss parameters such as food-intake, physical activity, mood and motivationhas to our knowledge not been developed to date. Up till now, lifestyle coaching has mainlyused self-reported data, or rarely medical information that is neither continuously availablenor updated. By creating a complete “behavioral profile” of an individual, an optimizedintegrative tailored intervention could be designed, focusing on all relevant aspects of weightloss, including motivation, beliefs, behavior and biometrics.

The key research question of this project is therefore: how can we derive meaningfrom multimodal self-monitoring with respect to sustainable weight loss and how canwe utilize this information to improve weight loss coaching?

Team

• Peter Claes, External Partner (External)
• Jan Sijbers, External Partner (External)
• Jan Seghers, External Partner (External)
• Greet Vansant, External Partner (External)
• Rudiger Mees, External Partner (External)
• Tim Lammens, External Partner (External)
• Claudia Put, Project Leader (External)
• Babs Weyn, Proposal Manager (External)
• Karin Slegers, Research Leader (External)
• Inge Thijs, Team member
• Jan Aerts, Team member
• Raf Winand, Team member

Financing

Funding: iMinds - Flanders' digital research center and incubator

Program/Grant Type: ICON - iMinds ICON