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Cited by 16Innovative Human-Technology InteractionMobile Health and mHealth ApplicationsUsability and User Interface Design

The DOI matches its Crossref record, with a small difference in title or year; 63 of the 64 references it cites were found in a registry or an index, and 1 are not checked yet.

How Cultural Norms Influence Persuasive Design: A Study on Chinese Food Journaling Apps

Open access
Lu, Xi, Chen, Yunan, A. Epstein, Daniel·2021·Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2021
DOI 10.1145/3461778.3462142
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Abstract

Persuasive features are often used in food journaling apps to help people reach various personal goals. Our understanding of persuasive design in food journaling apps has primarily been built from studying and designing apps in Western contexts. However, varied cultural perceptions around journaling goals, such as healthy eating and weight management, suggest that the design of persuasive features may differ across cultures. We therefore investigate how culture influences the use of persuasive techniques in Chinese food journaling apps and consequently people's journaling experiences. Through reviewing features of Chinese apps and interviewing people who have used them, we find that some Chinese apps heavily emphasize body shape, and people's motivations for journaling and desires for journaling apps similarly focus more on body shape than diet. We discuss tensions and opportunities for food journaling apps which align with or account for cultural norms while challenging unhealthy or problematic aspects of them.

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Crossref · 10.1145/3461778.3462142

Cites

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Figures

Figure 1 Weight loss speed indications in goal setting. (Left) the Western app Noom notifies users when they set an unhealthy weight loss goal. (Middle) the Chinese app Light+ provides an unhealthy weight loss plan. (Right) the Chinese app Copenhagen Method to Lose Weight supports unhealthy weight loss habits.
Figure 1 Weight loss speed indications in goal setting. (Left) the Western app Noom notifies users when they set an unhealthy weight loss goal. (Middle) the Chinese app Light+ provides an unhealthy weight loss plan. (Right) the Chinese app Copenhagen Method to Lose Weight supports unhealthy weight loss habits.CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 2 Body assessment feature of Chinese and Western apps for a user 157cm (5.15ft) tall and weighing 48kg (105.8lbs). (Left) The Chinese app Change , indicating a person as mildly obese despite a normal body weight. (Middle) the Chinese app Weight Loss Secretary , suggesting best measures for the user. (Right) the Western app Fooducate , calculating a user's BMI as 20.3 and providing an explanation for different BMI ranges.
Figure 2 Body assessment feature of Chinese and Western apps for a user 157cm (5.15ft) tall and weighing 48kg (105.8lbs). (Left) The Chinese app Change , indicating a person as mildly obese despite a normal body weight. (Middle) the Chinese app Weight Loss Secretary , suggesting best measures for the user. (Right) the Western app Fooducate , calculating a user's BMI as 20.3 and providing an explanation for different BMI ranges.CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 3 Apps use icons to convey messages about ideal or desirable properties. (Left) The icon of the Chinese app Good Body Knowledge shows a scale with the number ' 46.8 kg (103lbs) ', while (Right) the icon of the Western app Lose It! shows a scale without a number.
Figure 3 Apps use icons to convey messages about ideal or desirable properties. (Left) The icon of the Chinese app Good Body Knowledge shows a scale with the number ' 46.8 kg (103lbs) ', while (Right) the icon of the Western app Lose It! shows a scale without a number.CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 4 Success stories were more prevalent in Chinese apps than Western apps. (Left) The Chinese app Change and (Middle) Mint describe the positive effects of being slim, while (Right) the Western app Carb Manager only shows before & after pictures and the weight loss amount.
Figure 4 Success stories were more prevalent in Chinese apps than Western apps. (Left) The Chinese app Change and (Middle) Mint describe the positive effects of being slim, while (Right) the Western app Carb Manager only shows before & after pictures and the weight loss amount.CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 5 Chinese apps often used attractive models in many places to evoke a thin ideal, such as in Weight Loss Secretary (Upper Left; Upper Middle), Change (Bottom Left), and Mint (Bottom Middle). No Western apps included models, but a few like MyDietCoach (Upper Right) used cartoon figures to evoke this ideal.
Figure 5 Chinese apps often used attractive models in many places to evoke a thin ideal, such as in Weight Loss Secretary (Upper Left; Upper Middle), Change (Bottom Left), and Mint (Bottom Middle). No Western apps included models, but a few like MyDietCoach (Upper Right) used cartoon figures to evoke this ideal.CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 6 A few Chinese apps highlighted the unpleasant experience of being overweight, such as by describing the life of someone who is overweight in the App Change (Left) or giving people a space to share unpleasant experiences in the Weight Loss Secretary (Right).
Figure 6 A few Chinese apps highlighted the unpleasant experience of being overweight, such as by describing the life of someone who is overweight in the App Change (Left) or giving people a space to share unpleasant experiences in the Weight Loss Secretary (Right).CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 7 (Left) the Chinese apps So Light and (Middle) the Copenhagen Method to Lose Weight focus on presenting pictures of people's fitness and weight loss journeys through pictures on the internal social platform, while the Western app My Plate (Right) emphasizes text posts rather than their pictures.
Figure 7 (Left) the Chinese apps So Light and (Middle) the Copenhagen Method to Lose Weight focus on presenting pictures of people's fitness and weight loss journeys through pictures on the internal social platform, while the Western app My Plate (Right) emphasizes text posts rather than their pictures.CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 8 The recommended posts on the homepage of the built-in social platform of Chinese apps often highlighted users who expressed needing to lose weight, including in Light+ (Left) and Weight loss Secretary (Right).
Figure 8 The recommended posts on the homepage of the built-in social platform of Chinese apps often highlighted users who expressed needing to lose weight, including in Light+ (Left) and Weight loss Secretary (Right).CC-BY · From the PDF

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Citations

Cites

Show all 63 references

Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Elizabeth V. Eikey Yunan Chen and Kai Zheng. (2019). Do Recovery Apps Even Exist?: Why College Women with Eating Disorders Use (But Not Recommend) Diet and Fitness Apps Over Recovery Apps. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics) Springer Verlag 727-740. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15742-5_69 · DOI
  2. Elizabeth V. Eikey Madhu C. Reddy Kayla M. Booth Lynette Kvasny Johnna L. Blair Victor Li and Erika S. Poole. (2017). Desire to be Underweight: Exploratory Study on a Weight Loss App Community and User Perceptions of the Impact on Disordered Eating Behaviors. JMIR mHealth and uHealth 5(10) e6683. http://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.6683 · DOI
  3. B. J. Fogg . ( 2019 ). Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything . Eamon Dolan Books . B. J. Fogg. (2019). Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Eamon Dolan Books.
  4. MyFitnessPal.com. ( 2017 ). MyFitnessPal on the App Store. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myfitnesspal/id341232718 MyFitnessPal.com. (2017). MyFitnessPal on the App Store. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myfitnesspal/id341232718
  5. Tom Plocher Rau Pei-Luen Patrick and Choong Yee-Yin. (2012). Cross-Cultural Design. In Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics. 162-191. http://doi.org/10.1002/9781118131350.ch6 · DOI

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Related

Metadata

Authors
Lu, X., Chen, Y., & A. Epstein, D.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Irvine (US)
  • Informatics University of California, Irvine, United States
ORCID
Venue
Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2021
Publisher
ACM
Published
2021-06-28
Pages
619-637
DOI
10.1145/3461778.3462142
OpenAlex
W3175258235
Cited by
15
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1
FWCI
1.87
Type
conference paper
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
Designing Interactive Systems Conference (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
National Science Foundation (1850389)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Usability and User Interface Design
Keywords
persuasive design, cultural norms, Chinese users, body shape, healthy eating, weight management, user motivation, cross-cultural design

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