Researchers at Lancaster University have created a new toolset to guide developers of technologies aimed at helping the millions of people around the world who are affected by problematic eating and unhealthy relationships with food.
By combining health research insights with practical design tools, the researchers have developed a rigorous, health-research-grounded framework to guide the design and evaluation of digital technologies that support mindful eating. Mindful eating is the practice of being more mentally aware when consuming food and drink, as well as bodily cues such as hunger and feeling full. It’s considered to be a technique for cultivating a better, more conscious relationship with eating.
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However, the researchers found that many existing technologies have limited theoretical underpinnings from mindful eating research and eating experts. The new research addresses this recognised gap between health science theory and technology design.
The new work bridges a critical gap between health science and human–computer interaction, providing designers with evidence-based tools to ensure that digital solutions are aligned with scientific principles, thus making them safe and effective.
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At the heart of the study are Mindful Eating Design Critique (MEDEC) cards, a novel physical tool consisting of a deck of 28 cards developed by the researchers that translates complex health concepts on mindful eating and offers practical guidelines for designers and health practitioners. The cards are grounded in a rigorous analysis of mindful eating principles, interventions and measurement scales.
The MEDEC cards cover different technology types, such as mobile apps, wearables, smart tableware and even robots, as well as looking at different aspects relating to mindful eating, such as taking small bites, chewing slowly and being aware of different senses and bodily clues. The MEDEC cards were used and evaluated by 36 mindful eating experts to critique existing technologies, enabling the team to refine the cards.
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‘Our goal was to make sure that future technologies claiming to support mindful eating are truly aligned with evidence-based health research,’ said Professor Corina Sas of Lancaster University’s School of Computing and Communications. ‘By grounding design decisions in scientific research, and evaluating our MEDEC cards with experts, we can help technology designers create digital experiences that genuinely support people with mindful eating.’
The research involved identifying the core principles of mindful eating through a comprehensive review of health science literature on mindful eating principles, measurement scales and therapeutic interventions.
From this foundation, the team conducted a scoping review of technologies targeting such aspects, curated design exemplars and generated a conceptual design. Workshops with experts using the MEDEC cards then informed a structured framework to critique and design better mindful eating technologies.
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‘We have carefully refined both the concepts’ descriptions and sensitising questions for probing reflection on mindful eating aspects, as well as the cards’ visual design – such as icons and colour palette – to make it more accessible for technology designers,’ said Lala Guluzade, a researcher at Lancaster University’s School of Computing and Communications who is also a professional designer. ‘With problematic eating and unhealthy relationships with food impacting millions worldwide, designing mindful eating technologies based on rigorous science could help people engage with their eating habits more thoughtfully and safely.’
Technology designers can download the MEDEC cards here.
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The research has been published in ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction.