{"676100":{"#nid":"676100","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New App Helps Fit Physical Activities into Students\u0027 Busy Schedules","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor some students, an 8 a.m. class will take away the morning jog they enjoyed every day last semester. For others, a lab meeting time changed, and tennis doubles in the afternoon won\u2019t be an option anymore.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents returning to campus for a new semester often struggle to find time for physical activities because of their new routines and schedules. However, a new app developed at Georgia Tech helps busy students prioritize physical activity in their daily routines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPh.D. student Kefan Xu of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.google.com\/view\/riarriaga\/home?authuser=0\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EUbicomp Health and Wellness Lab at Georgia Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E created Plannergy, a time management app that identifies open time blocks in users\u2019 schedules.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EXu introduced Plannergy at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI) in Honolulu, Hawaii in May. He says the app is ideal for college students because they tend to have busy and inconsistent schedules.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPlannergy allows users to track their schedules, reflect on what activities would be beneficial and timely, and strategize how to implement the activity into their schedule.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Currently, the app is catered to people who\u2019ve been physically inactive and have inconsistent schedules,\u201d Xu said. \u201cCollege students know their schedule will change when they begin a new semester. They need to get some physical activity and find opportunities in the day they can leverage. It could be as simple as walking to school instead of taking a scooter.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EXu tested his app on 16 college students who planned their physical activities every seven days and followed a reflective iteration framework to track improvement. The results showed that Plannergy is an effective behavior change tool. The findings also indicate that it increases participants\u2019 awareness of their schedules.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe American Heart Association says adults can reduce the risk of heart disease by participating in at least \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/healthy-living\/fitness\/fitness-basics\/aha-recs-for-physical-activity-in-adults\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity weekly\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/mmwr\/volumes\/72\/wr\/mm7204a1.htm?s_cid=mm7204a1_w\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ereport in 2023\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E that found 72% of Americans aren\u2019t meeting that standard.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs Xu points out in his paper, studies have shown that incorporating physical activity into a person\u2019s routine usually helps them maintain it. However, he\u2019s identified two common problems:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPeople lack understanding about their schedules and routines.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPeople have schedules that fluctuate from one day to the next.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIndividuals face a lot of changes in their life,\u201d Xu said. \u201cMaybe they\u2019re a student who has graduated, and they\u2019re going into industry, which means their daily routine will be different from what it was while they were in school. This app allows them to experiment with different time slots and activity types to figure out another way and help them update their activity routine no matter what life changes they face.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECUSTOM FIT\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome users who have been inactive for extended periods may be unsure how much exercise they need. Plannergy can also help them determine the intensity level of the activity to help avoid overexertion.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf someone has been inactive for months, it\u2019s hard to ask them to run two miles daily,\u201d Xu said. \u201cThere\u2019s much for them to figure out. How much do they want to do, and at what intensity level? This app lets them gradually figure out the ideal activity. They can continue to track their progress and see if improvements are needed.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPlannergy is not limited to physical activity. Xu says one of the students in his study who worked out daily used the app to identify times in her schedule to take breaks or focus on more spiritual disciplines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cShe added yoga and removed some high-intensity physical activities, and her sleeping routine also changed,\u201d Xu said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EXu is working to improve the app. Future versions will have sensing technology to leverage health informatics so users can make better decisions. He also wants the app to record user data and make customized suggestions for activities that fit the user\u2019s schedule and preferred exercise intensity level.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe app requires manual tracking, which can create user burden,\u201d he said. \u201cI think in the future, the process could be more automated. We want to keep it flexible but add more scaffolding to enhance user experience.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPlannergy allows users to track their schedules, reflect on what activities would be beneficial and timely, and strategize how to implement the activity into their schedule.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Plannergy can help students fit physical activity into their busy and flucuating schedules."}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2024-08-20 13:57:30","changed_gmt":"2024-09-03 15:57:10","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-08-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-08-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"674643":{"id":"674643","type":"image","title":"2X6A9356.jpg","body":null,"created":"1724162260","gmt_created":"2024-08-20 13:57:40","changed":"1724162260","gmt_changed":"2024-08-20 13:57:40","alt":"Male student sitting on a track, holding a tennis racket, in between two old computer monitors","file":{"fid":"258193","name":"2X6A9356.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/08\/20\/2X6A9356.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/08\/20\/2X6A9356.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":146978,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/08\/20\/2X6A9356.jpg?itok=Itig00QG"}}},"media_ids":["674643"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"34741","name":"mobile app"},{"id":"399","name":"physical activity"},{"id":"192845","name":" activity, fun"},{"id":"183904","name":"healthy choices"},{"id":"4073","name":"fitness"},{"id":"123671","name":"fitness tracking"},{"id":"33601","name":"health and fitness"},{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENathan Deen\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Interactive Computing\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}