Inspiration:
The problem we are trying to resolve is the high percentage of obesity in our community. According to PubMed, the prevalence of obesity in Detroit as of 2014 was 47.4%. Being overweight comes with many consequences. One is more likely to be a victim of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and or poor mental health. Because an overweight person is more prone to these diseases, he or she will have to take time off of work or school to make frequent visits to the hospital. Over time, this can lead to unemployment. It is also likely for someone to have low self-esteem when he or she is obese.
What it does:
For the information listed above, we chose to focus on this specific health issue. Our intention is to improve our community and increase the lives of the people living within it. Even the smallest bit of effort in helping goes a long way.
How we built it:
Our app is called Lose It! We chose this name because it is unique in its own way. Lose It condenses the problem of obesity into six tabs. The tabs are called Basic Tips, Weight Loss, Dietary, Exercise, Track your Journey, and Kill the Junk! The basic tips tab allows the viewer to look at some very broad tips to keep in mind when beginning this journey as it may become difficult. It can become exhausting and often, one may lack in motivation. Our app helps to prevent these issues ahead of time, so that there is no time being wasted. The weight loss tab has a more in depth explanation of how it all goes down. Because it is important to maintain a nutritional diet, we've also included a tab about dietary suggestions. All it takes is a little less chicken and a little less of that sugar we constantly devour. Along with healthy eating, exercise is crucial in this process. In order to tone ones body, he or she must exercise. Our app contains a website to locate nearby gyms by entering a zip code. We have an alternative for those who are unable to join a gym. Our exercise tab also contains a few optional at home exercises. Our app is suitable for everyone in the U.S. Our fifth tab is called Track your Progress. In this section, the viewer is able to track his or her progress and it will be saved even after leaving the screen. This is beneficial because it is within the app and it doesn’t require additional work. Our last section is a game called Kill the Junk! The message behind the game is to avoid junk food and maintain a healthy diet. By pressing the unhealthy foods, you are “killing” the junk.
Challenges we ran into:
In the beginning, we were confused on how we wanted our app to function. We were unsure on how to work the blocks. We also changed the layout of our app almost three times until we decided to finalize our layout. After we confirmed the topic of our app, we were able to create the user interface. When it came to the blocks, it wasn't much at all. At first, we were stressed because it felt like so much, but in the end, it was actually quite easy.
Accomplishments that we're proud of:
Being able to create a well-functioning app was the biggest accomplishment for my partner and I. We have also been recognized at our school for making this app and being selected.
What we learned:
We learned that it can be very difficult and frustrating when creating an app. For us, the most frustrating part was programming the app and its function. We also learned that cooperation and perseverance is very important when trying to create an app. Without these two, it would've been impossible to complete.
What's next for Lost It!:
In the future if we are given the chance to improve our app, we would activate gps and construct the app to detect nearby gyms on its own without the need of an additional website. Our app can be altered to suit everyone around the world, but for now, it is suitable for those in the United States.
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