U.S. patent application number 14/518524 was filed with the patent office on 2016-04-21 for computing weight control profile.
The applicant listed for this patent is Polar Electro Oy. Invention is credited to Ville Kampman, Matti Palatsi, Tomi Thurlin.
Application Number | 20160107031 14/518524 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54337154 |
Filed Date | 2016-04-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160107031 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Palatsi; Matti ; et
al. |
April 21, 2016 |
COMPUTING WEIGHT CONTROL PROFILE
Abstract
A method includes: acquiring, in an apparatus, at least one
weight value representing weight of a user; acquiring, in an
apparatus, a weight development target for the user; computing, on
the basis of the at least one weight value and the weight
development target, at least one activity adjustment instruction
indicating required the physical activity of the user; and
outputting the activity adjustment instruction through an
interface.
Inventors: |
Palatsi; Matti; (Oulu,
FI) ; Kampman; Ville; (Oulu, FI) ; Thurlin;
Tomi; (Oulu, FI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Polar Electro Oy |
Kempele |
|
FI |
|
|
Family ID: |
54337154 |
Appl. No.: |
14/518524 |
Filed: |
October 20, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
434/247 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 19/3481 20130101;
G06F 19/3475 20130101; G16H 20/60 20180101; G16H 20/30 20180101;
A63B 24/0075 20130101; G16H 15/00 20180101 |
International
Class: |
A63B 24/00 20060101
A63B024/00 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: acquiring, in an apparatus, at least one
weight value representing weight of a user; acquiring, in an
apparatus, a weight development target for the user; computing, on
the basis of the at least one weight value and the weight
development target, at least one activity adjustment instruction
indicating required physical activity of the user; and outputting
the activity adjustment instruction through an interface.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: computing, on the
basis of the at least one weight value and the weight development
target, at least one nutrition intake adjustment instruction
indicating required nutrition intake of the user; and outputting
the nutrition intake adjustment instruction through the
interface.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving, as an
input, a value defining a ratio according to which the activity
adjustment and the nutrition intake adjustment are proposed for
reaching the weight development target for the user.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: acquiring activity
measurement data representing physical activity measured from the
user within an observation interval; and acquiring nutrition intake
information of the user within the observation interval.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: estimating, on the
basis of the at least one weight value, energy expenditure computed
from the activity measurement data, and energy intake computed from
the nutrition intake information, future weight development of the
user; and outputting data representing the future weight
development through the interface.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: computing the at
least one activity adjustment instruction and the at least one
nutrition intake adjustment instruction further based on the
estimated future weight development, wherein the at least one
activity adjustment instruction indicates how to change the
physical activity with respect to the measured physical activity
and the at least one nutrition intake adjustment instruction
indicates how to change the nutrition intake with respect to the
nutrition intake information of the user.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein the activity measurement data
represents round-the-clock measured heart activity and/or activity
measured with an inertial sensor round-the-clock.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein said computing the at least one
activity adjustment instruction comprises: providing a mapping
between each of a plurality of activity types to a value describing
how exercising the activity type affects the weight; computing, on
the basis of the mapping and the weight development target for an
activity type, an exercise value describing a time period the user
needs to perform said activity type in order to reach the weight
development target; and outputting, through the interface, said
activity adjustment instruction comprising the exercise value and
an identifier of said activity type.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the exercise value describing the
time period is computed by employing as an input user's personal
attributes including at least one of weight, gender, activity
level, maximum performance level.
10. The method of claim 5, wherein said computing the at least one
nutrition intake adjustment instruction comprises: providing a
mapping between each of a plurality of nutrition types to a value
describing how intake of the nutrition type affects the weight;
computing, on the basis of the mapping and the weight development
target for a nutrition type, a nutrition value describing an amount
of said nutrition type the user needs to intake less in order to
reach the weight development target; and outputting, through the
interface, said nutrition intake adjustment instruction comprising
said nutrition value and an identifier of said nutrition type.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the nutrition value is computed
by employing as an input user's personal attributes including at
least one of weight, gender, activity level, maximum performance
level.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein said activity adjustment
instruction output through the interface reconfigures at least one
activity target of a personal training computer carried by the
user.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing, through
the interface and upon detecting a predetermined event, an
instruction for the user to measure his/her weight.
14. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least
one memory including a computer program code, wherein the at least
one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the
at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to perform
operations comprising: acquiring at least one weight value
representing weight of a user; acquiring a weight development
target for the user; computing, on the basis of the at least one
weight value and the weight development target, at least one
activity adjustment instruction indicating required physical
activity of the user; and outputting the activity adjustment
instruction through an interface.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one memory and
the computer program code are configured, with the at least one
processor, to cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
computing, on the basis of the at least one weight value and the
weight development target, at least one nutrition intake adjustment
instruction indicating required nutrition intake of the user; and
outputting the nutrition intake adjustment instruction through the
interface.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising in the apparatus:
receiving, as an input, a value defining a ratio according to which
the activity adjustment and the nutrition intake adjustment are
proposed for reaching the weight development target for the
user.
17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one memory and
the computer program code are configured, with the at least one
processor, to cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
acquiring activity measurement data representing physical activity
measured from the user within an observation interval; and
acquiring nutrition intake information of the user within the
observation interval.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one memory and
the computer program code are configured, with the at least one
processor, to cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
estimating, on the basis of the at least one weight value, energy
expenditure computed from the activity measurement data, and energy
intake computed from the nutrition intake information, future
weight development of the user; and outputting data representing
the future weight development through the interface.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the at least one memory and
the computer program code are configured, with the at least one
processor, to cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
computing the at least one activity adjustment instruction and the
at least one nutrition intake adjustment instruction further based
on the estimated future weight development, wherein the at least
one activity adjustment instruction indicates how to change the
physical activity with respect to the measured physical activity
and the at least one nutrition intake adjustment instruction
indicates how to change the nutrition intake with respect to the
nutrition intake information of the user.
20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the activity measurement
data represents round-the-clock measured heart activity and/or
activity measured with an inertial sensor round-the-clock.
21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said computing the at least
one activity adjustment instruction comprises: providing a mapping
between each of a plurality of activity types to a value describing
how exercising the activity type affects the weight; computing, on
the basis of the mapping and the weight development target for an
activity type, an exercise value describing a time period the user
needs to perform said activity type in order to reach the weight
development target; and outputting, through the interface, said
activity adjustment instruction comprising the exercise value and
an identifier of said activity type.
22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the exercise value
describing the time period is computed by employing as an input
user's personal attributes including at least one of weight,
gender, activity level, maximum performance level.
23. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said computing the at least
one nutrition intake adjustment instruction comprises: providing a
mapping between each of a plurality of nutrition types to a value
describing how intake of the nutrition type affects the weight;
computing, on the basis of the mapping and the weight development
target for a nutrition type, a nutrition value describing an amount
of said nutrition type the user needs to intake less in order to
reach the weight development target; and outputting, through the
interface, said nutrition intake adjustment instruction comprising
said nutrition value and an identifier of said nutrition type.
24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the nutrition value is
computed by employing as an input user's personal attributes
including at least one of weight, gender, activity level, maximum
performance level.
25. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said activity adjustment
instruction output through the interface reconfigures at least one
activity target of a personal training computer carried by the
user.
26. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one memory and
the computer program code are configured, with the at least one
processor, to cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
providing, through the interface and upon detecting a predetermined
event, an instruction for the user to measure his/her weight.
27. A computer program product embodied on a distribution medium
readable by a computer and comprising program instructions which,
when executed by an apparatus, perform a method, comprising:
acquiring at least one weight value representing weight of a user;
acquiring a weight development target for the user; computing, on
the basis of the at least one weight value and the weight
development target, at least one activity adjustment instruction
indicating required physical activity of the user; and outputting
the activity adjustment instruction through an interface.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Field
[0002] The invention relates to activity monitoring systems and
information processing algorithms.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] There are commercially available activity-monitoring systems
configured to monitor daily activity of a user by employing motion
sensors, heart activity sensors, etc. Such systems may be used to
computer daily, weekly, or monthly energy expenditure of the user.
Measured activity may be uploaded to a server computer accessible
with a web browser, for example. The user may then evaluate
long-term activity on the basis of records stored in his/her user
account in the server computer.
SUMMARY
[0005] According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a
method as specified in claim 1.
[0006] According to an aspect of the invention, there are provided
an apparatus as specified in claim 14.
[0007] According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a
comput-er program product as specified in claim 27.
[0008] According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a
comput-er program product readable by a computer and comprising
program instructions which, when loaded into an apparatus, execute
the method according to any of the appended claims.
[0009] According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a
comput-er-readable distribution medium carrying the above-mentioned
computer pro-gram product.
[0010] According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided
an apparatus comprising means for performing any of the embodiments
as described in the appended claims.
[0011] According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided
an apparatus comprising processing means configured to cause the
apparatus to per-form any of the embodiments as described in the
appended claims.
[0012] Some embodiments of the invention are defined in the
dependent claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] In the following the invention will be described in greater
detail by means of preferred embodiments with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an activity monitoring system according
to an embodiment of the invention;
[0015] FIGS. 2A to 2D illustrates some low diagrams, according to
some embodiments of the invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a user interface of a
portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the
invention;
[0017] FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate adjusting the way guidance is
provided in reaching a set weight development target, according to
an embodiment of the invention;
[0018] FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate display views illustrating said
adjustment instructions and effect of such adjustment instructions
according to some embodiments of the invention;
[0019] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a process for computing
activity adjustment instructions according to an embodiment of the
invention;
[0020] FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of a process for computing
nutrition intake adjustment instructions according to an embodiment
of the invention;
[0021] FIG. 8 illustrates a display view comprising a component
enabling implementation of the activity adjustment instructions
into activity targets according to an embodiment of the
invention;
[0022] FIG. 9 illustrates a flow diagram of a process for
implementing the activity adjustment instructions into activity
targets according to an embodiment of the invention; and
[0023] FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate block diagrams of structures of
apparatuses according to some embodiments of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the
specification may refer to "an", "one", or "some" embodiment(s) in
several locations, this does not necessarily mean that each such
reference is to the same embodiment(s), or that the feature only
applies to a single embodiment. Single features of different
embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments.
Furthermore, words "comprising" and "including" should be
understood as not limiting the described embodiments to consist of
only those features that have been mentioned and such embodiments
may contain also features/structures that have not been
specifically mentioned.
[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates a physical training environment to which
embodiments of the invention may be applied. FIG. 1 illustrates an
activity monitoring system comprising an activity monitoring
apparatus 12 comprising a simplified user interface and a portable
electronic device 14 comprising a user interface with more
features. The activity monitoring system may further comprise one
or more external sensor devices 10 such as a heart activity
transmitter, a stride sensor, a positioning sensor, etc. Referring
to FIG. 1, a user 11 may carry an activity monitoring apparatus 12.
The activity monitoring apparatus may be a portable or wearable
device such as a wrist device 12 or another wearable training
computer. The wrist device 12 may comprise at least one physical
activity sensor configured to measure user's physical activity
motion induced by the user 11 to the wrist device 12 by moving a
hand in which the user 11 wears the wrist device 12.
[0026] In an embodiment, the physical activity sensor comprises a
heart activity sensor configured to measure user's heart activity
characterized by beat to beat interval, heart rate and/or heart
rate variability.
[0027] In an embodiment, the physical activity sensor comprises a
motion sensor configured to measure motion induced by the user 11
to the wrist device 12 by moving a hand in which the user 11 wears
the wrist device 12.
[0028] In an embodiment, the motion sensor(s) comprise at least one
of the following: an accelerometer, a magnetometer, and a
gyroscope.
[0029] In an embodiment, the motion sensor comprises an
accelerometer and a gyroscope. The motion sensor may further
comprise sensor fusion software for combining the accelerometer
data and gyroscope data so as to provide physical quantities, such
as acceleration data, velocity data, or limb trajectory data in a
reference coordinate system having orientation defined by a
predetermined gyroscope orientation.
[0030] In an embodiment, the motion sensor comprises a gyroscope
and a magnetometer. The motion sensor may further comprise sensor
fusion software to combine gyroscope data and magnetometer data so
as to provide a reference coordinate system for the gyroscope based
on the Earth magnetic field measured by the magnetometer. In
general, the sensor fusion software described above may combine
measurement data acquired from at least two motion sensors such
that measurement data acquired from one motion sensor is used to
establish the reference coordinate system for the measurement data
acquired from at least one other motion sensor.
[0031] The system may further comprise a weighing device 18 such as
a scale configured to measure weight of a human, e.g. the user 11.
The weighing device 18 may comprise a weighing unit based on a
strain gauge or another circuitry converting a weight applied to
the weighing device 18 by the user 11 or another entity being
measured with the weighing device 18. The weighing unit may output
a signal representing the measured weight to a communication
circuitry configured to output the measured weight according to a
determined communication protocol, e.g. a wireless or a wired
communication protocol.
[0032] The system may further comprise a server computer 16
connected to at least one computer network, e.g. the Internet. The
server computer 16 may store user accounts storing activity data of
users, e.g. the user 11. Any one or all of the portable electronic
device 14, the wrist device 12, and the weighing device 18 may be
configured to establish an end-to-end communication connection with
the server computer 16 and to upload and/or download data with the
server computer 16. The portable electronic device 14, the wrist
device 12, and the weighing device 18 may upload measurement data
to the user's 11 user account stored server computer 16 and, in
some embodiments, receive configuration data such as training
targets from the server computer 16.
[0033] In an embodiment, the server computer 16 may store an
identifier of a personal device associated with the user 11, e.g.
the wrist computer 12 or the portable electronic device 14. The
identifier may be a communication address of the device 12, 14 such
as a medium access control (MAC) address or an internet protocol
(IP) address. Each device 12, 14 may transmit its own identifier to
the server computer together with the measurement data, and the
server computer 16 may use the identifier to associate the
measurement data with the user's 11 user account. In this manner,
there is no need to log into the user account in order to store the
data and, the data transfer may be carried out automatically
without user intervention. In a similar manner, a similar
identifier of the weighing device 18 may be registered to the
user's 11 user account when the weighing device is associated with
a single user. When a plurality of users share the same weighing
device, the user currently using the weighing device may
authenticate to the weighing device 18 and, as a consequence, the
weighing device may associate the measured weight with a user
identifier associated with the user and transmit the user
identifier together with the measurement data to the server
computer 16 such that the server computer may use the user
identifier to find the user's user account and store the
measurement data to the correct account.
[0034] The portable electronic device 14 may be a mobile phone, a
smart phone, a palm device, a tablet computer, or a portable
digital assistant. The portable electronic device 14 and the wrist
device 12 may be configured to establish a wireless communication
connection with one another and exchange activity data over the
wireless communication connection. The wireless communication
connection may be established according to Bluetooth.RTM.
specifications, e.g. Bluetooth Low Energy. The activity monitoring
system may employ the simplified user interface of the wrist device
12 to display coarse activity information and the sophisticated
user interface of the portable electronic device to display the
activity information in a higher display resolution.
[0035] In an embodiment, the portable electronic device 14
comprises a communication circuitry configured to establish the
wireless communication connection with a communication circuitry of
the wrist device 12, a display screen, and at least one processor
configured to receive at least one of motion measurement data and
heart activity measurement data from the wrist device through the
communication circuitry, to process the received measurement data,
and to cause the display screen to display the processed
measurement data.
[0036] In an embodiment, the motion measurement data characterizes
the physiological activity of the user.
[0037] In an embodiment, the motion measurement data comprises
acceleration values in at least one dimension selected from the x-,
y-, and z-axis presented in the acceleration sensor-fixed or in a
reference coordinate system. The reference coordinate system may be
fixed to a gyroscope or magnetometer coordinate systems, and the
motion measurement data may be mapped to the reference coordinate
system.
[0038] In an embodiment, the motion measurement data comprises
pulse data determined from at least one acceleration values
selected from selected from the x-, y-, and z-axis presented in the
acceleration sensor-fixed or in a reference coordinate system.
[0039] In an embodiment, the motion measurement data comprises time
distribution spent on at least one motion intensity zone, where the
motion intensity may derived from at least one of acceleration
values or motion pulse frequency. Below, the motion intensity zone
maps to activity classes in some aspects.
[0040] In an embodiment, the motion measurement data characterizes
the mechanical impact of the motion to the human body. The
mechanical impact may also be referred to as mechanical training
load, which characterizes the mechanical muscular load of an
exercise.
[0041] In an embodiment, the heart activity measurement data
measured with the heart activity transmitter 10 characterizes
cardiovascular activity of the user.
[0042] In an embodiment, the heart activity measurement data
comprises heart beat intervals of the heart beats, e.g. R-R
intervals.
[0043] In an embodiment, the heart activity measurement data
comprises heart rate values, which may or not may be averaged over
a time period.
[0044] In an embodiment, the heart activity measurement data
characterizes the user's energy expenditure rate or energy
expenditure derived from heart rate or heart beat intervals.
[0045] In an embodiment, the heart activity measurement data
characterizes time distribution spent on at least one heart rate
zone having a lower limit and an upper limit.
[0046] In an embodiment, the heart activity measurement data
characterizes the training load of the exercise or motion to the
user's body. The training load may comprise a loading component
which characterizes the physiological load of the motion and a
recovery component which characterizes the user's body's trend to
recover towards a normal physiological state after the motion or an
exercise.
[0047] Additionally, the more versatile input interface of the
portable electronic device 14 may be used by the user to control
the activity monitoring relating to the motion measurement data and
the heart activity measurement data, and the portable electronic
device 14 may transmit commands and configuration parameters to the
wrist device 12 over the wireless communication connection.
[0048] FIGS. 2A to 2D illustrate some embodiments of processes
performed by the apparatus. Referring to FIG. 2A, the process
comprises acquiring (block 200) at least one weight value
representing weight of the user 11 and acquiring (block 200) a
weight development target for the user 11. In block 202, the
apparatus computes, on the basis of the at least one weight value
and the weight development target, at least one activity adjustment
instruction indicating required physical activity of the user 11.
In block 204, the apparatus outputs the at least one activity
adjustment instruction through an interface. Thus, the process of
FIG. 2 provides the apparatus with a function to compute/estimate
what the activity of the user 11 should be in order to reach the
weight development target value.
[0049] In an embodiment of FIG. 2B, the apparatus may further
compute (block 210), on the basis of the acquired at least one
weight value and the acquired weight development target, at least
one nutrition intake adjustment instruction indicating required
nutrition intake of the user 11. This may provide a change for the
user 11 to know how he/she should eat in order to reach the set
weight development target. In block 212, the nutrition intake
adjustment instruction may be output through the interface.
[0050] In an embodiment, as shown in block 220 of FIG. 2C, the
apparatus may acquire activity measurement data representing
physical activity measured from the user 11 within an observation
interval, and nutrition intake information of the user 11 within
the observation interval. By knowing these measures, the apparatus
may then proceed with more knowledge to steps 202 and/or 210 to
compute the at least one activity adjustment instruction and/or the
at least one nutrition intake adjustment instruction. In these
cases, the at least one activity adjustment instruction may
indicate how to change the physical activity of the user 11 with
respect to the measured physical activity, and the at least one
nutrition intake adjustment instruction may indicate how to change
the nutrition intake with respect to the nutrition intake
information of the user 11.
[0051] The system of FIG. 1 or a system comprising some of the
devices 12 to 18 of FIG. 1 may be used to monitor the user's 11
daily activity and nutrition intake. The daily activity may be
monitored by the activity monitoring apparatus 12 configured to
measure the user's 11 physical activity. The nutrition intake may
be input by the user 11. The user may input the nutrition intake
through a user interface of the portable electronic device 14 or
through a user interface of another apparatus, e.g. a personal
computer, connected to the server 16. The nutrition intake may be
input in the form which enables conversion of the nutrition intake
into energy intake values.
[0052] In one embodiment of FIG. 2D, the apparatus may, in block
222, estimate, on the basis of the at least one weight value,
energy expenditure computed from the activity measurement data, and
energy intake computed from the nutrition intake information,
future weight development of the user 11. In block 223, the
apparatus may output data representing the future weight
development through the interface. The process of FIG. 2D provides
the apparatus with a function to estimate the user's 11 weight
development on the basis of activity data measured from the user 11
by employing at least one sensor device. The apparatus may use the
nutrition intake as another input to the weight development
estimation algorithm.
[0053] In an embodiment, the apparatus may compute the at least one
activity adjustment instruction and the at least one nutrition
intake adjustment instruction further based on the estimated future
weight development, For example, in case the future weight
development, determined based on weight value, energy expenditure
data, and energy intake, shows increasing weight, the guidance
measures (activity and/or nutrition intake) may need to be adjusted
so that the target weight development value is reached.
[0054] In an embodiment, the activity measurement data represents
round-the-clock measured heart activity. In an embodiment, the
activity measurement data represents activity measured with an
inertial sensor round-the-clock. This may provide accuracy and
reliability to the energy expenditure of the user 11.
[0055] In an embodiment, the apparatus carrying out the processes
of FIG. 2A-2D or any one of its embodiments described below is the
server computer 16. In this embodiment, the interface may be a
communication interface of the server computer 16, e.g. a network
adapter providing the server computer with a communication
connection to one or more computer networks. In one embodiment, the
interface where the data is output is an interface of another
apparatus/device, such as the interface of the portable electronic
device 14. The server 16 may command the device 14 to output the
data via the interface of the device 14. In another embodiment, the
apparatus carrying out the process of FIG. 2 or any one of its
embodiments described below is the portable electronic device 14.
In this embodiment, the interface may be a user interface of the
device 14, e.g. a display screen or a display interface.
[0056] FIG. 3 provides an illustration of the data output through
the display interface of the portable electronic device 14.
Referring to FIG. 3, the portable electronic device 14 may be
configured to execute a computer program application configured to
display the effect of the measured physical activity and the
nutrition intake on the user's weight. This information may be
illustrated in the form of an indicator indicating the weight
development, e.g. whether the weight is estimated to increase,
decrease, or maintain unchanged as a result of the activity
measurements and the nutrition intake. In the embodiment of FIG. 3,
one such indicator is provided in the form of a steelyard 308
pointing to a scale formed by elements 300, 302, 304, 406 disposed
around the steelyard. The steelyard is formed by a fulcrum and a
line or a plane disposed on the fulcrum. The line represents the
indicator that points to the scale. The elements 300 to 306 may be
provided on opposite sides of the indicator such that on each side
there is provided an element 302, 304 associated with weight
reduction and an element 300, 306 associated with weight increase.
The elements may be provided in an opposing order on the opposite
sides such that the ends of the indicator at any given time
indicate elements associated with either the weight increase or
decrease.
[0057] In an embodiment, FIG. 3 illustrates another indicator
representing the user's 11 weight development. This indicator may
comprise a numeric value 310 illustrating the weight development in
weight units (e.g. kilograms or pounds) within a determined time
interval (e.g. one week or one month).
[0058] Let us now describe a use scenario. The user 11 may measure
his/her weight by using the weighing device 18 provided with
network communication capability or another weighing device, e.g. a
conventional mechanical scale. The user may input the measured
weight to his user account stored in the server 16 manually, or the
weighing device may automatically send the measured weight to the
user account. In another embodiment, the user or the weighing
device inputs the measured weight to the portable electronic device
14 or to the activity monitoring apparatus 12, and the portable
electronic device 14 or to the activity monitoring apparatus 12 is
configured to forward the weight to the user account in the server
computer 16. The server computer 16 may store identifiers, e.g. a
network address or a radio link address of the devices 12, 14
associated with the user 11, and thus be able to identify the
user's user account on the basis of the identifier received from
the device 12, 14 transmitting the weight and/or other user-related
data. When the user launches the computer program application in
the portable electronic device 14 for the first time, the
application may be configured to connect to the server 16 through
its communication circuitry and to download user-related
information from the server 16. The user-related information may
comprise one or more of the following: one or more weight values,
activity history, and nutrition intake history. When the user
launches the application for the first time, it is possible that
the server 16 stores only one weight value which is downloaded to
the application and no activity or nutrition intake history is
available. The portable electronic device 14 may then be configured
to control the display interface to show a short animation showing
the steelyard 308 or the indicator fluctuating, e.g. the steelyard
tilting up and down. The indicator(s) 308, 310 may then stabilize
to show no change in the weight.
[0059] When the activity measurement data and/or nutrition intake
history data is available for a duration of a non-zero time
interval, the application may be configured to show the estimated
weight development on the basis of the energy expenditure
associated with the activity measurement data and energy intake
associated with the nutrition intake. As described above, the
weight development may be computed in the server 16 or in the
portable electronic device 14, and the indicator(s) 308, 310 may
show the estimated weight development. For example, when the user
launches the application, the portable electronic device 14 may be
configured to control the display interface to show a short
animation showing the steelyard 308 or the indicator fluctuating,
e.g. the steelyard tilting up and down. The indicator(s) 308, 310
may then stabilize to show the estimated weight development, e.g.
as shown in FIG. 3.
[0060] With respect to the weight development, the apparatus may
estimate the future weight development on the basis of the measured
activity history data and the input nutrition intake history data.
The algorithm executed by the apparatus may be configured to
determine an observation interval, extract the measured activity
history data and the input nutrition intake history data mapped to
the observation interval, compute an aggregate value from the
energy intake and the energy expenditure in order to determine
whether or not the weight is increasing or decreasing and the
amount of increaser/decrease during the observation interval. The
apparatus may determine that the weight is increasing when the
energy intake is higher than the energy expenditure and that the
weight is decreasing when the energy intake is lower than the
energy expenditure. The apparatus may determine the amount of
weight development during the observation interval on the basis of
the difference between the energy expenditure and the energy intake
during the observation interval. The apparatus may then estimate
the future weight development by determining a time period over
which the future weight development is to be determined, e.g. a
day, a week or a month. The apparatus may scale the weight
development during the observation interval to the weight
development during the time period on the basis of the ratio
between the length of the observation interval and the time period.
For example, if the observation interval is one week and the time
period is one month, i.e. about four weeks, the apparatus may
quadruple the weight development during the observation interval
and output the resulting weight development value.
[0061] An embodiment provides the apparatus with guidance features.
The apparatus may be configured to compute activity guidance
parameters and/or nutrition intake guidance parameters. FIGS. 2A-2C
illustrate processes according to this embodiment. The process for
computing the guidance parameters comprises setting a weight
development target for the user in block 200. The weight
development target may specify a target for weight change over a
determined time period, e.g. in kilograms or pounds per one month,
a week, or two weeks. Then, in block 202, the apparatus may compute
the at least one activity adjustment instruction (e.g. indicating
how to change the physical activity with respect to the measured
physical activity). Additionally, the apparatus may, in an
embodiment, compute in block 210 the at least one nutrition intake
adjustment instruction (e.g. indicating how to change the nutrition
intake with respect to the nutrition intake information of the user
11). Then, the apparatus may output the activity adjustment
instruction (and the nutrition intake adjustment instruction)
through the interface in block(s) 204 and 212. In case the current
activity of the user (within the observation period) and the
current intake of the nutrition (within the observation period) is
known, these may be taken into account, as illustrated in FIG.
2C.
[0062] In an embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the user 11
may input, to the apparatus, a value defining a ratio according to
which the activity adjustment and the nutrition intake adjustment
are proposed for reaching the weight development target for the
user 11. For example, the user 11 may give this value through a
user interface of the apparatus (e.g. the server 16 or the device
14). In one example, the user may set a sliding pointer 400 on a
weighting scale 402 comprising values from 0 to 100 percent. The
weighting scale 402 may be a lateral or vertical sweeping touch
input. Although the weighting scale 402 is depicted so that a value
100 percent means the only nutrition intake may be adjusted and not
the activity, the definitions may be vice versed. As a default
value, the pointer 400 may be set to 50 percent, defining that the
activity adjustment and nutrition intake adjustment are given equal
weight in reaching the user-set target weight value. However, in
FIG. 4A, the user 11 has slid the pointer 400 towards the 100
percent-end meaning (e.g. the user-set value may be 65 percent)
that the nutrition intake adjustment is given more weight than the
activity adjustment. In practice this may mean that the user 11
need not increase the amount of activity much but decrease the
nutrition intake more. In FIG. 4B, it is showed that the user 11
has slid the pointer 400 towards the other end of the weighting
scale 402 (e.g. the user-set value in this case may be 65 percent),
which may mean that the user 11 rather wants to increase the amount
activity but decrease the nutrition intake only a little.
Therefore, the embodiment of FIGS. 4A and 4B may provide the user
11 a change to affect the way the guidance in reaching the set
weight development target is given.
[0063] FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the display screen of the
portable electronic device 14 when displaying the weight
development target and the adjustment instructions. The display
screen may be a touch-sensitive display screen configured to detect
and decode haptic user inputs. Referring to the display view of
FIG. 5A, the portable electronic device 14 may be configured to
display the weight development target 504 as a numeric value. The
time period for the weight change may also be displayed. The
display view may comprise a section 510 displaying one or more
activity adjustment instructions and a section 512 displaying one
or more nutrition intake adjustment instructions. The section 510
displaying one or more activity adjustment instructions may display
one or more activity types and a duration value for each activity
type. The duration value may indicate for how long the user 11 is
instructed to perform the corresponding activity type to reach the
displayed weight development target 504. The section 512 displaying
one or more nutrition intake adjustment instructions may display
one or more nutrition types and an amount value for each nutrition
type. The amount value may indicate for how much less the user 11
is instructed to consume the corresponding nutrition type to reach
the displayed weight development target 504. The amount value may
be associated with the weight of the corresponding nutrition type
or a number of portions of the corresponding nutrition type. FIGS.
6 and 7 described below provide some embodiments for computing the
values in sections 510, 512.
[0064] The touch-sensitive display may comprise user interface
components 500, 502 enabling the user 11 to adjust the weight
development target. Upon detecting the user providing a pointing
input to one of the components 500, 502, the apparatus may be
configured to determine whether the input indicates increase or
decrease of the weight development target 504 and, as a result of
the determination, the apparatus causes the display screen to
display a new weight development target corresponding to the user
input. When the weight development target changes, the apparatus
may be configured to reiterate the process of FIGS. 4A and 4B and
compute new activity adjustment instructions and/or new nutrition
intake instructions and display the new instructions in the
sections 510, 512.
[0065] FIG. 5B illustrates another display view of the portable
electronic device 14. The portable electronic device 14 may provide
a mechanism to switch between the display views of FIGS. 5A and 5B,
e.g. through a haptic touch input such as a lateral or vertical
sweeping touch input. The display view of FIG. 5B comprises a body
mass index indicator 550 indicating the user's 11 body mass index.
The body mass index may be computed from the user's personal
attributes input to the user account stored in the server 16 and/or
to the portable electronic device 14 and from the latest weight of
the user 11. Such personal attributes may comprise the user's 11
gender and height. The body mass indicator may be displayed on a
scale divided into zones, wherein each zone is associated with a
classification indicating normal weight, overweight, or
underweight. The mass index indicator may be located in an
appropriate zone according to the computed user's 11 body mass
index.
[0066] The display view of FIG. 5B may further illustrate the
weight history in the form of a graph 552, for example. The weight
history may be based on the weight measurement values input to the
user account. Additionally, the weight history may be based on the
activity measured with the activity monitoring apparatus 12 and/or
the nutrition intake input to the user account. For example, the
measured activity and the nutrition intake may be used to
interpolate and/or extrapolate weight values between the measured
weight values. The measured weight values may thus serve as anchor
points for the graph 552. The graph 552 may show the past weight
history. The weight history until the current time instant
("Today") may be used to estimate future weight development with
the current general activity level and nutrition intake level. The
apparatus may compute the future weight development in the
above-described manner and display a graph 554 showing the
estimated weight development. Additionally, the apparatus may
compute and display another graph 556 showing future weight
development if the user reaches the weight development target 504.
This graph 556 may be displayed as a line between the current
weight and a weight value matching with the weight development
target.
[0067] FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a function executed in
block 202, wherein the at least one activity adjustment instruction
is computed. Referring to FIG. 6, the process in block 402 may
comprise providing a mapping between each of a plurality of
activity types to a value describing how exercising the activity
type affects the weight (block 600). The mapping may be provided in
a database stored in a memory device of the apparatus or in a
memory device accessible to the apparatus. The mapping may
indicate, for each activity type, energy consumption per time unit
associated with said activity type. The apparatus may compute, on
the basis of the mapping and the weight development target for an
activity type, an exercise value describing a time period
indicating how much more the user needs to perform said activity
type in order to reach the weight development target (block 602).
The computation in block 602 may comprise determining a difference
between the current weight and a target weight associated with the
weight development target, computing energy expenditure needed to
achieve the difference, and determining for each activity type, a
time period needed exercising before the energy expenditure is
reached. The time period may then be output as the exercise value.
The apparatus may then output, through the interface, said activity
adjustment instruction comprising the exercise value and an
identifier of said activity type. The activity type and the
exercise value may then be displayed in the section 510 of the
portable electronic device 14.
[0068] In an embodiment of block 602, the exercise value describing
the time period is computed by employing as an input user's
personal attributes including at least one of weight and gender.
The user's weight and gender may affect the energy consumption and,
therefore, more accurate estimate of the energy expenditure per
time unit of the activity type may be achieved by using the
personal attributes that affect the energy expenditure. The
personal attributes may be acquired from the user's 11 user account
or they may be input to the apparatus by the user 11.
[0069] The activity types for which the exercise value is computed
may comprise at least some of the following: walking, running,
cycling, swimming, doing household chores, and playing a determined
game.
[0070] FIG. 7 illustrates another embodiment of a function executed
in block 210, wherein the at least one nutrition intake adjustment
instruction is computed. Referring to FIG. 7, said computing the at
least one nutrition intake adjustment instruction comprises
providing a mapping between each of a plurality of nutrition types
to a value describing how intake of the nutrition type affects the
weight (block 700). The mapping may be provided in a database
stored in a memory device of the apparatus or in a memory device
accessible to the apparatus. The mapping may indicate, for each
nutrition type, energy intake per unit associated with said
nutrition type. The apparatus may compute, on the basis of the
mapping and the weight development target for a nutrition type, a
nutrition value describing an amount of said nutrition type the
user needs to intake less in order to reach the weight development
target (block 702). The nutrition value may be computed through
energy intake per unit of said nutrition type. The unit may be a
weight unit or a portion unit. In block 704, the apparatus may
output, through the interface, said nutrition intake adjustment
instruction comprising said nutrition value and an identifier of
said nutrition type. The nutrition type(s) and associated nutrition
value(s) may then be displayed in the section 512 of the portable
electronic device 14.
[0071] In an embodiment of block 702, the nutrition value
describing the amount of nutrition type is computed by employing as
an input user's personal attributes including at least one of
weight and gender. The personal attributes may be acquired from the
user's 11 user account or they may be input to the apparatus by the
user 11.
[0072] FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate an embodiment where said activity
adjustment instruction output through the interface reconfigures at
least one activity target of a personal training computer carried
by the user. The personal training computer may be the activity
monitoring device 12 or the portable electronic device 14.
Referring to FIG. 8, the display screen of the portable electronic
device may comprise a component 800 selectable by the user 11
through a user input, e.g. a haptic input. Referring to FIG. 9, the
portable electronic device 14 may output the activity adjustment
instructions in the section 510, as described above. When the
portable electronic device 14 detects the user input selecting the
component 800 (block 902), the portable electronic device may
reconfigure one or more activity targets for the user (block 904).
The reconfiguration may comprise implementing the activity
adjustment instructions to the activity targets, e.g. synchronizing
the activity adjustment instructions to the activity targets. The
activity targets may define targets for accumulation of activity
for one or more activity types during a determined time interval,
e.g. a target for walking may be two hours per day. The
reconfiguration of the target(s) may comprise modifying the old
target(s) with the exercise value. For example, if an old target is
two hours of walking per day and the exercise value indicates that
30 minutes more walking per day is needed to reach the weight
development target, the portable electronic device may set a new
target of two hours and 30 minutes of walking per day. On the other
hand, if an old target is five hours of high activity time
(measured activity above a determined threshold) per day and the
exercise value indicates that one hour less activity is needed to
reach the weight development target, the portable electronic device
14 may set a new target of four hours of high activity time per
day.
[0073] In an embodiment where the activity targets are used and
displayed to the user in the activity monitoring device 12, block
904 may comprise outputting an instruction to update the activity
targets with the activity adjustment instructions, wherein the
instruction may be communicated from the portable electronic device
14 to the activity monitoring device 12 over a wired or wireless
communication connection.
[0074] In an embodiment where the activity targets are used and
displayed to the user in the portable electronic device 14, block
904 may comprise outputting the activity adjustment instructions to
a computer program module executed in the portable electronic
device, managing the activity targets, and monitoring activity
accumulation performed by the user 11.
[0075] In an embodiment, the apparatus (the server 16 or portable
electronic device 14) may provide, through the interface, an
instruction for the user 11 to measure his/her weight upon
detecting a predetermined event. This may be beneficial in that the
user 11 remember to measure this/her weight. Knowing the current
weight reliably and up-to-date, provides for more accurate
instructions in steps 202 (and 210) in reaching the set weight
development target.
[0076] In an embodiment, the predetermined event may be defined as
a time of a clock. For example, the apparatus may give a command
"go to scale" every day at 10 o'clock. In one embodiment, the
apparatus may detect the person waking up, and give the
instructions right after waking up.
[0077] In an embodiment, the predetermined event may be defined in
measured activity level. For example, the apparatus may give a
command "go to scale" every time the measured activity level
increase over an activity threshold. The activity level may be
based on the activity measurement data.
[0078] In an embodiment, the instruction is given as a written text
indication on the interface. In an embodiment, the instruction is
given as a vibration alert. In an embodiment, the instruction is
given as an audio alert. The instruction may be given in the
portable electronic device 14 or in the activity monitoring device
12.
[0079] In one embodiment, there are intermediate targets in the
weight development. The user 11 may him/herself set the weight
development intermediate targets or they may be automatically set
on the basis of the difference between the current weight and the
target weight. Once the user 11 meets an intermediate target, the
user 11 may receive a notification of this. The notification may
come through the interface. This may increase the motivation of the
user 11 to reach the final weight development target.
[0080] In one embodiment, at least one statistical parameter is
determined from data stored in the server 16. The server 16 may
store data for a plurality of users, the data representing the
weight or weight development of the plurality of users. The at
least one statistical parameter may be an average weight of certain
group of users, an average weight development of a certain group of
users, and/or an average amount of weight lost. The certain group
of users (i.e. a subgroup of users) may be a group of users having
a predetermined age range, such as less than 20 years, between
21-30 years, between 31-40 years, between 41-50 years, between
51-60 years, or over 60 years, to mention only a few non-limiting
age range examples. The certain group of users may also be selected
according to other criteria, such as according to gender, according
to initial weight value, according to the area (country, city,
village) in which the persons live, according to how much exercise
has been performed, according to ratio according to which the
activity adjustment and the nutrition intake adjustment are
proposed for reaching the weight development target, to mention
only a few examples. In an embodiment, the certain group may also
be self-established so that only friends of a given user are
members of the group. In an embodiment, only users who have set a
target to lose weight are members of the certain group.
[0081] The determined at least one statistical parameter may then
be compared against the corresponding parameter of the user in
question. For example, let us assume that the weight loss of the
user is 10 kg, while the average weight loss of the group is only 5
kg. Then an indication of the difference may be provided to the
user. Further, a credit may be provided to the user for the work
well done. There may be thresholds for giving the credits, such as
a credit is given only when the user has lost at least as much
weight as the average weight loss is. The credit may be a monetary
compensation, a training product gift, for example. The credits may
be accumulated and when a certain amount of credits are obtained,
the user may change the credits to a certain product, gift,
monetary compensation, etc.
[0082] FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a structure of an
apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. The
apparatus may be applicable to or comprised in the server computer
16. The apparatus may comprise at least one processor 100 or
processing circuitry and at least one memory 110 including a
computer program code 118, wherein the at least one memory and the
computer program code are configured, with the at least one
processor, to cause the apparatus to carry out the functions
described above in connection with the server computer, e.g. any
one of the processes of FIGS. 2, 4, 6, and 7. The apparatus may
comprise a communication circuitry 102 configured to handle the
connections with the portable electronic device 14, activity
monitoring device 12 and, in some embodiments, the weighing device
18. The communication circuitry 102 may be configured to establish,
maintain, and terminate connections with the devices and transfer
data over the connections. For example, the activity measurement
data may be transferred through the communication circuitry 102 and
stored in a user account 114 comprised in the memory 110. The
activity measurement data may comprise at least one of the
following: the heart activity measurement data, the motion
measurement data, and one or more activity metric(s) computed by
the activity monitoring device 12 on the basis of the heart
activity measurement data and/or the motion measurement data. In an
embodiment, the server computer 16 receives raw measurement data as
the activity data from the activity monitoring device 12 and
computes the activity metric(s) from the raw measurement data. In
other embodiments, the portable electronic device 12 receives the
activity metric(s) as computed by the wrist device. The one or more
activity metrics may comprise a heart rate, energy consumption,
heart rate accumulation over time, or an activity class. An
activity class may represent quantization of the motion activity
metric and/or heart activity metric. The range of motion activity
metrics and/or heart activity metrics may be divided into a
plurality of zones, and each zone may represent an activity class.
Lowest motion activity metrics and/or heart activity metrics may be
allocated to the lowest activity class and vice versa. The portable
electronic device 14 and/or the server computer 16 may compute
further activity metric(s) from the received activity metric(s),
e.g. energy expenditure from the activity accumulation.
[0083] The processor 100 may comprise a weight development
estimation circuitry 104 configured to estimate user's 11 weight
development in the above-described manner. The weight development
estimation circuitry 104 may comprise an energy expenditure
estimation circuitry 106 configured to receive as an input the
activity measurement data received through the communication
circuitry 102 from the activity monitoring device. In some
embodiments, the activity measurement data may be routed through
the portable electronic device 14 and/or another mediating device.
The activity measurement data may be stored in the user account 114
in the above-described manner. As described above, the energy
expenditure estimation circuitry 106 may be configured to determine
the user's personal attributes and use them as another input. The
energy expenditure estimation circuitry 106 may compute the effect
of the measured activity on the user's weight loss by employing an
appropriate mapping between the energy expenditure computed from
the activity measurement data and the weight loss. The mapping may
be stored in a mapping table 119 in the memory 110. In embodiments
where the energy expenditure estimation circuitry 106 carries out a
part of block 202 and/or the process of FIG. 6, the energy
expenditure estimation circuitry 106 may be configured to use the
weight development target as a further input and compute, on the
basis of said mapping between the energy expenditure computed from
the activity measurement data and the weight loss, the amount of
energy the user has to expend in order to change weight from the
latest value of the weight to the weight development target. The
mapping tables 119 may further store information on energy
expenditure per time unit for a plurality of activity types. The
energy expenditure estimation circuitry 106 may use this
information to determine, for one or more activity types, duration
for how long the user needs to perform said one or more activity
types in order to cause the weight change. The energy expenditure
estimation circuitry 106 may then store the duration as the
activity adjustment instruction in the user account 114 or output
the instruction to the communication circuitry 102.
[0084] The weight development estimation circuitry 104 may comprise
a nutrition intake estimation circuitry 108 configured to receive
as an input the nutrition intake data received through the
communication circuitry 102 or through a user interface from the
user 11. The nutrition intake data may be stored in the user
account 114 in the above-described manner. The nutrition intake
estimation circuitry 108 may compute the effect of the nutrition
intake on the user's weight loss by employing an appropriate
mapping between the energy intake computed from the nutrition
intake data and the weight increase. The mapping may be stored in
the mapping table 119. In embodiments where the nutrition intake
estimation circuitry 108 carries out a part of block 210 and/or the
process of FIG. 7, the nutrition intake estimation circuitry 108
may be configured to use the weight development target as a further
input and compute, on the basis of said mapping between the energy
intake computed from the nutrition intake data and the weight
increase, the change in the amount of energy the user has to intake
in order to change weight from the latest value of the weight to
the weight development target. The mapping tables 119 may further
store information on energy intake per nutrition unit for a
plurality of nutrition types. The nutrition intake estimation
circuitry 108 may use this information to determine, for one or
more nutrition types, a value indicating a change in an amount the
user needs to intake said one or more nutrition types in order to
cause the weight change. The nutrition intake estimation circuitry
108 may then store the value as the nutrition intake adjustment
instruction in the user account 114 or output the instruction to
the communication circuitry 102.
[0085] Whenever, the portable electronic device 14 or the activity
monitoring device 12 requests for a specific information element
from the user account 114 or an update of the user account, the
processor 100 may be configured to update the user account with
further data received from the device(s) 12, 14 and/or to send data
contents of the user account 114 to the device(s) 12, 14, depending
on the type of the request. In an embodiment where the weight
development estimation circuitry 104 is provided in the device(s)
12, 14, the processor may simply manage and transfer contents of
the user accounts 114.
[0086] FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of a structure of an
apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. The
apparatus may be applicable to or comprised in the portable
electronic device 14, or the apparatus may be the portable
electronic device 14. The apparatus may comprise at least one
processor 150 or processing circuitry and at least one memory 120
including a computer program code 128, wherein the at least one
memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at
least one processor, to cause the apparatus to carry out the
functions described above in connection with the portable
electronic device 14, e.g. any one of the processes of FIGS. 2, 4,
6, and 7. The apparatus may comprise a communication circuitry 152
configured to handle the connections with the server computer 16,
activity monitoring device 12 and, in some embodiments, the
weighing device 18. At least some of the connection s may comprise
a wireless communication link, e.g. a short range communication
link and/or a long range communication link. An example of the
short range communication link is a Bluetooth.RTM. radio link,
while an example of the long range communication link is a cellular
radio link such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) of Universal Mobile
Telecommunication System (UMTS). The communication circuitry 152
may be configured to establish, maintain, and terminate connections
with the devices and transfer data over the connections.
[0087] The apparatus may further comprise a display configured,
under the control of the processor 150, to provide at least some of
the display views illustrated in the FIGS. 3, 5A, 5B, and 8.
[0088] In some embodiments, the apparatus may comprise the activity
monitoring device 12. For example, the apparatus may comprise at
least one motion sensor or another sensor configured to measure the
activity measurement data. The apparatus may further be connected,
through the communication circuitry 152, to another activity
monitoring device 112, e.g. the wrist device or a heart activity
transmitter.
[0089] The processor 150 may be configured to execute the
above-described computer program application configured to display
the effect of the measured physical activity and the nutrition
intake on the user's weight. The execution of the application may
trigger a weight development determination circuitry 154 to
acquire, from the server computer 16 and/or from the memory 120,
the weight development history of the user 11 and a future weight
development estimate. In an embodiment where the weight development
estimation circuitry 104 of the server computer 16 computes this
data, the weight development determination circuitry 154 may
download the data from the server computer and configure the
display 116 to display the data in the form illustrated in display
views 3, 5A, 5B, 8. In another embodiment, the weight development
determination circuitry 154 may comprise the weight development
estimation circuitry 104.
[0090] The processor 150 may further comprise an adjustment
instruction determination circuitry 156 configured to acquire the
above-described activity adjustment instructions and/or the
nutrition intake adjustment instructions and configured the display
116 to display one or both of the sections 510, 512. Depending on
the embodiment, the adjustment instruction determination circuitry
156 may acquire the adjustment instructions from the server
computer or from the weight development determination circuitry
154.
[0091] The adjustment instructions may indicate only the change to
the current behaviour of the user. The processor 150 may comprise
an activity target managing circuitry 158 configured to manage
activity targets and to implement the instructed changes comprised
in the activity adjustment instructions to real activity targets,
wherein the activity targets represent the total energy expenditure
required of the user 11 within a time period. Upon receiving an
instruction to change the activity targets through a user
interface, for example, the activity target managing circuitry 158
may add one or more values comprised in the activity adjustment
instructions and associated with one or more activity types to
current activity targets of the corresponding activity type. The
activity target managing circuitry 158 may then cause the display
116 to display the updated activity targets.
[0092] As used in this application, the term `circuitry` refers to
all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations
such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry;
(b) combinations of circuits and software and/or firmware, such as
(as applicable): (i) a combination of processor(s) or processor
cores; or (ii) portions of processor(s)/software including digital
signal processor(s), software, and at least one memory that work
together to cause an apparatus to perform specific functions; and
(c) circuits, such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a
microprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation,
even if the software or firmware is not physically present.
[0093] This definition of `circuitry` applies to all uses of this
term in this application. As a further example, as used in this
application, the term "circuitry" would also cover an
implementation of merely a processor (or multiple processors) or
portion of a processor, e.g. one core of a multi-core processor,
and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term
"circuitry" would also cover, for example and if applicable to the
particular element, a baseband integrated circuit, an
application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and/or a
field-programmable grid array (FPGA) circuit for the apparatus
according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0094] The processes or methods described in FIGS. 2 to 9 may also
be carried out in the form of a computer process defined by a
computer program. The computer program may be in source code form,
object code form, or in some intermediate form, and it may be
stored in some sort of carrier, which may be any entity or device
capable of carrying the program. Such carriers include transitory
and/or non-transitory computer media, e.g. a record medium,
computer memory, read-only memory, electrical carrier signal,
telecommunications signal, and software distribution package.
Depending on the processing power needed, the computer program may
be executed in a single electronic digital processing unit or it
may be distributed amongst a number of processing units.
[0095] The present invention is applicable to activity monitoring
systems. The algorithms used may develop over time, and such
development may require extra changes to the described embodiments.
Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly
and they are intended to illustrate, not to restrict, the
embodiment. It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that,
as technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in
various ways. The invention and its embodiments are not limited to
the examples described above but may vary within the scope of the
claims.
* * * * *