Mobile Video Game Influences Children to Choose Healthier Food
Palo Alto, CA (PRWEB) September 29, 2015 -- FriendsLearn is a privately held Silicon Valley mobile health company focused on improving the health of children through an industry leading entertainment App – fooya!. FriendsLearn Founder & CEO, Bhargav Sri Prakash, presented results of a peer reviewed clinical study of health outcomes conducted during the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp.
The presentation, “Neuropsychology based Behavior Design through mobile health gaming”, focused on the company’s industry leading breakthroughs in designing interactive and immersive mobile entertainment, as well as the scientific methods in achieving statistically significant health outcomes. The talk also highlighted results from a recent study of outcomes during the nationwide ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science camp, where researchers found improvements in the diets of middle school campers at various university sites across the country.
The study results showed a 17% reduction in the consumption of processed food, a 4% reduction in sugar-sweetened beverages and a 7.6% increase in the consumption of fresh fruit, over a 3-day period, as the result of a single exposure to fooya!.
“We have pioneered ways to target the behavior centers within the prefrontal cortex of children, conditioning children to make healthy lifestyle choices,” said Sri Prakash.
Dr. Bernard A. Harris - a former NASA astronaut, Physician and past President of the American Telemedicine Association, who serves as an Independent Director in FriendsLearn said, “One of the tools for solving global health issues in the future involves implementing calculable and cost-effective mobile technology to reach and positively influence the behavior of people around the world.”
Uttara Bharath Kumar, from the Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University – who is a Principal Investigator on a different research study evaluating eating and health habits of children using fooya! said, “we know that perception of social norms and self-efficacy play a significant role in our behaviors. Neuropsychology based approaches like fooya! open an exciting frontier for behavior formation and modification, especially in children”
Concluding the Oral Ignite! presentation at the 2015 Stanford MedicineX Conference, Sri Prakash said while referencing the risks posed by the extent of the childhood obesity epidemic on national security and the economy, “We know that children enjoy fooya! with out the need for any oversight, which is something that parents, doctors, and many others who care about well-nourished healthy children, are truly relieved about. After 4 years of self funded progress with great collaborators, we now aim to scale through strategic partnerships, with leading players in healthcare, insurance providers, pharmaceuticals, wellness, fitness, government, and technology investors”.
The 2015 Stanford MedicineX Conference was held September 25 – 27 at the Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California. Stanford Medicine X is the leading patient-centered conference focused on emerging technologies and medicine. Thought leaders and innovators convene annually on the campus to explore new ways of creating wellness and improving healthcare in partnership with all healthcare stakeholders.
About FriendsLearn
Based in Silicon Valley, California, (http://www.friendslearn.com) FriendsLearn is a Mobile Health and Medicinal Entertainment startup that has produced fooya!, by building upon industry leading technologies in Neuropsychology based behavior modification.
Akhil Mani, FriendsLearn, http://www.friendslearn.com/, +1 832-226-2154, [email protected]
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