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Self-tracking wearable devices are being used to track calorie consumption and physical activity, to support self-awareness and healthy behavior. These devices automatically capture desirable behaviors (such as walking) but do not typically detect unhealthy behaviors (such as sitting for a long period of time) or intervene in the moment to persuade users to correct these unhealthy behavior (e.g., by taking a break to go for a walk). There is an increasing trend for people with low physical activity occupations to sit for long periods of time, yet research suggests that lengthy sitting, independent of overall physical activity level, increases the risk of weight gain and mortality[4] . We aim to decrease the duration of sedentary bouts in the workplace by detecting when people have been inactive for a long time and then prompting them to do some physical activity. We present the design of Fitbit+, a system that realizes this strategy by leveraging Fitbit’s near real-time, automated step logging to detect sedentary behavior and then prompt users to take a walking break.

Created by Ian Li. HCII, Carnegie Mellon University.