Summer School 2014 - "Future Health"

A healthy lifestyle comprising "sufficient" physical activity, "sufficient" sleep and a "healthy nutrition" are essential for a good quality of life and longevity. Time vs. duties and other restrictions, however, prevent many of us from following this healthy lifestyle. In recent years, many electronic gadgets such as wrist bands and apps became available that are designed to help improve our lifestyle by, e.g., logging our steps/activities, sleep duration and quality, and energy intake / nutrient content. Many of these gadgets interact online with one or more platforms that collect and save the pertinent data. Both, apps and platforms, provide feedback and motivation.

Students explored the application of technical gadgets for logging healthy behaviour such as physical activity and healthy nutrition. By assessing and logging the personal activity, sleep and dietary records during the course of the summer school and in relation to a nutritional intervention, students experienced these “electronic helpers” themselves, their positive and negative aspects. The case study group set out to address questions like:

• How do activity, sleep and nutrition affect energy homeostasis?
• Do levels of activity and sleep interact with changes related to altered
  nutrition?
• Does a change in nutrition affect mood?
• Do the little “helpers” motivate or annoy?
• Can we trust the technology, the data and the additional information
  provided by different gadgets and platforms?
• Are the data owned, analysed or sold by these platforms?

More details can be found at 'Future Health'.