Increasing In-Home Physical Activity of Obese Children in Urban Area using Kinect

Abstract

The benefits of physical exercise extend far beyond weight management. Research shows that regular physical activity can help reduce the risk for several diseases and health conditions and improve the overall quality of life. Research has also demonstrated that virtually all individuals can benefit from regular physical activity. Even among frail and very old adults, mobility and functioning can be improved through physical activity [2]. This paper proposes a framework for in-home physical exercise monitoring based on a Kinect platform. The effectiveness of regular physical exercising has been evidenced in general for preventing the deterioration of chronic diseases and premature death [1]. The analysis goes beyond the state-of-the-art solutions by monitoring more joints and offering more advanced reporting capabilities on the movement such as: the position and trajectory of each joint, the working envelope of each body member, the average velocity, and a measure of the user’s fatigue after an exercise sequence. This data can be visualized and compared to a standard (e.g. a healthy user, for rehabilitation purposes) or an ideal performance (e.g. a perfect sport pose for exercising) in order to give the user a measure on his/her own performance and incite his/her motivation to continue the training program. This research is mainly targeted for children in metropolitan area to continue their daily physical activity but such information can be used as well by a therapist or professional sports trainer to evaluate the progress of a patient or of a trainee.