Gamifying the Eating Experience: An Interactive Companion for Children’s Nutrition Education and Behavior Erin Lew, Jevrin Alviando, EunSook Kwon, and Jorge D. Camba (&) Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA {eplew,jalviando,ekwon,jdorribo}@uh.edu Abstract. We present an interactive companion for children’s nutrition edu- cation that capitalizes on digital technology to promote mental and physical stimulation by adding game-like elements to the eating experience. Our device allows children to manage portion sizes easily and promotes the practice of healthy eating habits by interacting with “Cibo,” a healthy kid metaphor that encourages children to learn how different food groups benefit the body. Dif- ferent parts of the device provide active feedback as the child eats his/her meal. The combination of physical and digital interaction gamifies the eating experi- ence and redefines “playing at the dinner table” into a positive event that nourishes children physically, cognitively, and emotionally. Keywords: Nutrition education and training Á Playful interfaces Á Educational technology Á Child development 1 Introduction For the past three decades, the prevalence of childhood obesity has significantly risen worldwide (see Fig. 1)[1]. According to recent statistics, nearly one out of every three children in the United States between the ages of two and nineteen is now overweight or obese [1, 2]. Childhood obesity occurs when the child’s body mass index is equal to or greater than the ninety-fifth percentile [2]. Obese and overweight children are at risk of developing type-two diabetes, asthma, and heart disease later in life [3–5]. Being obese as a child is also a major risk factor for being obese as an adult [6]. The main contributing factors for childhood obesity include the increased access to processed foods, lack of physical activity, social and cultural factors, and an increase in portion sizes [7]. Consequently, most intervention studies for child obesity prevention involve strategies that focus on developing healthy eating habits and promoting active classroom activities such as sports and physical play. Researchers agree that successful interventions should involve home, school or kindergarten, and community participants [8–10]. In recent years, the idea of giving children more independence starting at a younger age is gaining popularity among many parents. In the Baby-Led Weaning approach (BLW), for example, parents encourage their infants to feed themselves so they can © Springer International Publishing AG 2017 P. Zaphiris and A. Ioannou (Eds.): LCT 2017, Part I, LNCS 10295, pp. 462–473, 2017. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-58509-3_36