Finding a balance: social support v. privacy during weight-management

This work investigates current attitudes towards the involvement of others during weight-management (WM). It is prompted by ongoing attempts to harness social influence within system design so as to promote an increase in physical activity, with obesity often cited as a motivation. Through in-depth interviews, we have found that the complexities of sharing information in existing WM practices are not reflected in current system designs. Initial findings highlight the design tension raised by the need for social support as well as privacy. Preliminary design concepts of selective disclosure and relative comparison are offered to developers of sociocentric systems supporting WM-specific behavioural change.