Author:	Mokni, Ali
Supervisor:	Prof. Gudrun Klinker
Advisor:	Plecher, David (@ne23mux)
Submission Date:	15.03.2022

Abstract

Sugar intake has become an important subject of discussion. Nutrition research is exploring the ramifications of processed sugar more and more every day. Awareness is rising on the consequences of refined sugar on personal health. Many people are trying to change their own and their children’s diet to match healthier behaviors and decrease their sugar intake. To monitor and decrease this intake, a multitude of mobile applications emerged. Different approaches include visualization of the sugar in common items to build a better understanding of their actual sugar content, and applications that act as a journal for items consumed with gamification features that try to encourage their user to stay sugar free. These applications have many usages in the fields of medical diagnosis and medical monitoring and prevention of blood sugar-related diseases, such as diabetes. They offer a non-invasive way to explain blood sugar levels and complement modern methods of sugar monitoring. As part of this thesis, I am combining different technologies and techniques to maximize the impact an application of this type can show on the sugar intake of an individual. Augmented Reality is used to visualize the sugar quantity in a product to create a better understanding of it. To inspire behavioral change over longer time, gamification is employed. I created an evaluation algorithm that classifies items as green, yellow, or red to identify problematic items in the user’s diet. To address the problem of user retention often present in these types of applications, I tried to minimize the time spent entering products. I highlighted the importance of a modernized user interface. I created the user experience with fundamentals of user experience design and best practices in mind. This thesis covers the creation of personalized suggestions based on the received data to guide concrete changes in consumer behavior. Finally, I integrated a serious game to explain how sugar metabolizes in the body. This game highlights the importance of limiting sugar consumption and high amounts affect the body. It is detailed how to integrate this experience to reward the continued use of the application and improve its impact. This thesis provides implementation details on all the aspects presented to aid future processes for developing similar applications.