StepUp: A step counter mobile application to promote healthy lifestyle

Abstract

The Gulf States currently have one of the highest rates of diabetes and obesity in the world. It is blamed on a sedentary lifestyle and easy access to food high in fat and calories. Lifestyle choices such as physical activities and diet are the major force in fighting diabetes and obesity. The adoption of protective behaviors as well as healthful habits is a crucial factor in the prevention of these diseases. The first step in making healthy lifestyle choices is having information that helps in the decision-making process. In this paper, we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of the StepUp application a step counter application. StepUp exploits off-the-shelf sensor-enabled mobile phones to automatically infer the number of steps the user walked. The application goal is to give the user a quantitative measure of his or her daily activities and to increase the user awareness and understanding of the importance of exercise and facilitate the integration of regular exercise into their daily life.