FitPal: Reshape Daily Exercise Misconceptions Among Elders through AI Chatbot and Community-based Services

Abstract

Enhancing elderly physical health with regular exercise is key in aging society research. However, in the absence of scientifically validated exercise guidelines, older adults are susceptible to adopting excessive or inappropriate exercise methods that may be detrimental to their health. In research related to the elderly's exercise conceptions, the potential for community-engaged investigations has been mentioned. However, no study has proposed a community-based systematic design approach to reshape these misconceptions. Our study closely examined six elderly individuals inclined to exercise near their homes to research on their perception on daily excercise. Then we propose a new design paradigm that integrates an AI Chatbot, FitPal, for personalized exercise guidance and community-driven incentives to correct misconceptions and encourage long-term adherence to exercise among elders.