How Much Exercise Do You Have to Do to Drink a Glass of Coke? A Health Action Process Approach in Virtual Reality

Abstract

Obesity is the most widespread disease worldwide. There are numerous therapeutic approaches and possible solutions, but the problem has not diminished yet. By using digital technologies, we suggest to apply the concept of the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) and Cognitive Absorption (CA) to a virtual reality (VR) context. The HAPA is used in physiology and psychology to examine phenomena with regard to nutrition and movements. In order to strengthen the motivational level of people with obesity, our idea is to achieve a better nutrition behavior through a higher level of immersion and physical activities in VR. To investigate this issue, we propose an integrated theoretical model and an experimental study with volunteers. The experimental study combines psychological elements (HAPA) with digital technologies (VR) in order to establish a temporally and spatially independent mobile solution for increased awareness and understanding of consuming unhealthy food and the associated need for exercising.