Cell phone location monitor and user report platform for diet and energy balance

Two thirds of American adults and 16% of children are either overweight or obese. Overweight children are at greatest risk of remaining overweight and suffering negative health impacts into adulthood. Most efforts to control weight have been unsuccessful, despite increasing awareness and individual efforts to lose weight. Obesity is known to be a cause or risk for multiple forms of morbidity and mortality. Conditions already linked to overweight include diabetes, cardiovascular disease (e.g. coronary, stroke, and congestive heart failure), cancer, arthritis, sleep apnea and digestive diseases. The weight status of Americans has been declared a serious public health problem and is already burdening our health care systems. Most studies show an increase in mortality rates associated with obesity. Individuals who are obese have a 10- to 50-percent increased risk of death from all causes, compared with healthy weight individuals. Obesity is associated with about 112,000 excess deaths per year in the U.S. population relative to healthy weight individuals. A recent study estimated annual medical spending due to overweight and obesity to be as much as $92.6 billion in 2002 dollars-9.1 percent of U.S. health expenditures. Conversely to overweight, aging and serious illnesses are related to damaging changes in body composition and associated metabolic disorders. Techniques to maintain positive activity levels and nutritional status during cancer therapy, impaired cognition or motor control are poorly developed. Measuring two of the three most basic components of energy balance, intake and expenditure, in a manner suitable for metabolic studies is very difficult outside of the laboratory. Challenges include limited monitoring duration, compliance, limited resolution of low energy activities, lack of concurrency and poor presentation of data to users. Much better means and devices are needed for nutrition research, clinical interventions and self monitoring by users. Our goal with this Phase I project is to enable cell phone technologies for energy balance studies and intervention during daily life (outside the laboratory). Researchers can use the system we create to study the causes for overweight and best methods to help people control their weight. Clinicians and other caregivers will use the cell phone system to apply their plan for weight control directly and immediately to the participant. Our challenges include choosing the best cell phone implementations (models, software development kits and providers), creating user software for the evolving form factors of cell phones, storing and forwarding data. Participants will carry a cell phone that helps them record diet (food intake), types and levels of activities and answer specific questions.