Sitting is the new smoking: Using design thinking to tackle a public health challenge

Students from McMaster’s Innovation by Design (IBD) course recently shared their experiences learning design thinking methodology and applying it to a real world problem – the “epidemic” of sitting.

In the above video, the team discusses the rise of sedentary behaviour, as well as the prototype they developed to address this public health challenge. The team ultimately created an app that suggests short, easy workouts for those who spend a lot of time seated.

IBD is a course offered by the Health Leadership Academy (HLA) to senior-level undergraduate and graduate students. Although IBD focuses on understanding the user to design a potential solution, this particular team took things to the next level by getting their prototype production-ready.

A joint venture of the DeGroote School of Business and the Faculty of Health Sciences, the HLA strives to have a transformative impact on global healthcare by nurturing a community of future leaders. It’s based at DeGroote’s Ron Joyce Centre in Burlington.