Project aim: Reducing childhood obesity and food loss by creating (at a makerspace) a personalized lunch box for school children, based on examination of personal and family nutrition habits. Both obesity and food loss can be reduced by promoting awareness of food consumption and eating habits. However, awareness is only one milestone in the efforts against obesity, and was found, in general, as not as effective as assumed. Thus, this PoC goes beyond raising awareness by inclusion of active participation combined with education efforts to achieve behavioural change.
Our Project puts an emphasis on personal un
derstanding of eating habits by conducting a guided ‘Food diary’ for each family member separately and analysing these habits as individuals and as part of a family unit. The second phase of the project makes use of the data collected and analysed during the first phase, to implement the newly acquired understanding of the family’s eating habits into designing and constructing a personalized lunch box. The personalized lunch box will support each member of t
he family in maintaining healthier eating.
By understanding food preferences, detecting shortage of vitamins or major food groups or eating in excess of unbalanced or unhealthy food, each member of the family, and the family as a whole can adopt higher food li
teracy and healthier nutritional habits. By designing and creating the lunchboxes, participants invest efforts and increase commitment to support and enable their change of behaviour regarding food uptake.
