Towards proactive food diaries: a participatory design study

Self-monitoring (tracking) of food and activity behavior is an evidence-based strategy for weight loss, and the main strategy employed in weight loss applications (apps). However, tracking is difficult and time-consuming and it is the main cause for abandoning usage of weight loss apps. We conducted a participatory design study with 26 participants to identify users' ideas on how to design better tracking experiences. Participants were interested in 2 main features: (i) adaptive interfaces, where the input methods and details required change based on context, and (ii) timely and context-aware decision and motivation support.