The interactive mobile game developed at Dhofar University in Oman helps children in this country learn about healthy nutrition, physical activity, and lifestyle choices through culturally relevant game-based education.
Project Details
This project, known as "Targeting Features for a Healthy Lifestyle Using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making and Serious Games Mobile Application – Laaobs," is funded by the Strategic Research and Innovation Program in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
This research is led by Dr. Noorul Akmal Muhammad Zulkifli, an assistant professor in the Computer Science Department at the Faculty of Arts and Applied Sciences at Dhofar University. The project combines multi-criteria decision-making techniques with a mobile application to make health education more engaging and accessible for children.
Key Features of the Application
Serious games are designed for educational, behavioral, or health-related purposes. Through Laaobs, children interact with various scenarios, make decisions, and receive feedback to learn about food choices, physical activity, and healthy living habits.
One of the key features of this application is its emphasis on local Omani foods. Instead of relying solely on international examples, the game considers foods that children may encounter at home, school, restaurants, and in their communities.
This approach helps children understand that healthy nutrition goes beyond labeling foods as good or bad and introduces concepts such as balanced portions, nutritional value, healthier ingredients, and appropriate consumption frequency.
Dr. Noorul Akmal noted that this research uses MCDM to identify, evaluate, and prioritize the features included in the application. This approach allows the research team to assess healthy lifestyle choices based on multiple criteria.
Findings indicate that culturally relevant digital tools can make health education more meaningful by providing information in a context that children can recognize and understand. Additionally, the inclusion of familiar Omani foods demonstrates how digital health education can be adapted to local communities.
This project also explores how game-based learning can encourage children to actively engage in health education.
The research includes pre- and post-test assessments to measure children's understanding and decision-making in three main areas: food choices, physical activity, and awareness of healthy lifestyles.
Dr. Noorul Akmal recommends that health education applications for children should reflect local culture and dietary habits and utilize foods that they recognize and consume regularly.
Future research could involve larger and more diverse groups of children from different regions of Oman. Longitudinal studies could also investigate whether improvements in knowledge through game-based learning lead to lasting changes in dietary habits and physical activity.
The research team includes Dr. Noorul Akmal, Dr. Zainab Muhammad Al-Nahdi, Dr. Jayasree Radhamaniyama, and Mukesh Madhanan.
