Abstract:
System and method to determine user compliance with personalized diet and exercise plans by analyzing responses to messages about the plans. An expert system has a number of stored messages and display characteristics from which it chooses. The expert system generates message relating to the user&#39;s diet or physical activity that are sent to a user&#39;s mobile device and analyzes responses. Display characteristics change periodically and compliance data relating to the user&#39;s adherence to the plan when certain display characteristics are used is stored (e.g., meal plan adherence, acceptance of specific food selections, and adherence to instructions and advice in messages). The expert system then determines which messages and display characteristics achieve the greatest compliance to the dietary and physical activity schedule and goals.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/118,939, filed May 12, 2008 and titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INCREASING COMPLIANCE WITH A HEALTH PLAN, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,560,336, issued Oct. 15, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/118,939 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/117,190, filed May 8, 2008 and titled METHOD FOR TAILORING STRATEGY MESSAGES FROM AN EXPERT SYSTEM TO ENHANCE SUCCESS WITH MODIFICATIONS TO HEALTH BEHAVIORS, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,463,618, issued Jun. 11, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/118,939 is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/856,917 filed Sep. 18, 2007 and titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REWARDING USERS FOR CHANGES IN HEALTH BEHAVIORS, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for assisting with the maintenance of healthy lifestyle habits. More particularly, the present invention is a system and method for track, monitoring, and analyzing data to improve user compliance with personalized diet and exercise plans. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present invention relates generally to systems that promote healthy lifestyles and, more particularly, to weight loss systems. The present invention is an improvement upon existing weight loss systems in that it tracks, monitors, and analyzes data to improve compliance with a personalized health plan. The present invention may be used to motivate dieters as well as keep them on a healthy diet while at the same time allowing flexibility in different dieting aspects including, but not limited to, types of food, amount of food, types of food preparation, and amount of exercise. 
         [0004]    Dieting has become an extremely popular activity resulting from people&#39;s awareness of the health risks of becoming overweight or obese, a desire to improve one&#39;s appearance, and an aspiration to achieve the sense of accomplishment that comes from setting a difficult goal and accomplishing it. However, there is no singular method of dieting that works for every person. Body types, weight loss goals, and preferences vary greatly depending on the individual. Every dieter has individual likes and dislikes as to types of food, times and places to eat, type and length of exercise, eating habits, etc. Due to these differences, many dieters become frustrated with rigid, impersonal diets, and often quit the diet after a short time. 
         [0005]    Furthermore, dieters differ on how well they can motivate themselves to continue to adhere to certain dietary guidelines. For example, a dieter who is supposed to only eat a cup of pasta and a vegetable for lunch, but instead decides to eat an ice cream cone as well may be unable to justify such a decision within the diet and decide to give up the diet for the rest of the day. Because such “splurges” are detrimental to the dieter&#39;s physical and mental progress, the dieter may find the diet unsustainable. 
         [0006]    Many diet plans fail to allow for individualized exercise schedules. Typically, the diet plans suggest the same workout schedule for every person on the diet. For example, the diet plan may incorporate a workout of a half hour, two to three times a week. Such a generalized workout schedule has a number of weaknesses. First, it fails to factor in the type of activity the person is performing. The effectiveness of the exercise depends on what exercise is performed as well as the intensity. A half hour of strolling through a park is simply not as effective as a half hour of running. 
         [0007]    Second, it does not allow for individualized ability. For some people, working out for half an hour, two to three times a week, may be physically impossible given their current condition. It may be possible for them in the future, but the person may to a 15 minute workout for until his or her health improves. Other individuals may have the desire and ability to work out for a longer period of time or a greater number of times per week. 
         [0008]    Another problem with a general workout schedule is that it fails to factor in the individual&#39;s likes and dislikes as to type of activity and time of day to perform the activity. A plan that proposes exercise two to three times a week is easily put aside when the person is busy and distracted by other activities. A person is much more likely to perform an activity that is scheduled or better yet, for which a reminder is provided telling the person to perform a certain activity at a certain time. 
         [0009]    Finally, existing diet plans often fail to take into account details regarding the user&#39;s dietary information. The two parts of the diet plan—the intake of food and exercise—are generally treated as separate parts of the plan. However, the two are related in that they both have an impact on caloric intake. The more one exercises, the more one can eat. Accounting for both activities allows the impact of one to be applied to the other. For example, a person may eat a large lunch one day and reduce the impact of the lunch by including an extra work out later in the week. Likewise, a person could miss a scheduled workout and compensate for it by eating a smaller meal later in the day. 
         [0010]    A highly effective solution to many diet program problems is found through the use of coaching. Research has shown that dieting and weight loss is more successful when the dieter is coached throughout the process. Coaching keeps the dieter motivated, provides positive reinforcement, and introduces a narrowly-tailored plan for each individual participant. However, obtaining a reliable human coach is difficult and prohibitively expensive such that relatively few dieters are actually able to use one. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIVE CONCEPT 
       [0011]    The present invention addresses the diet plan programs identified above by providing personalized plans to meet the needs and requirements of individual users and determining users&#39; compliance with the plans. It uses tailored messages to “coach” individuals in following their personalized plans. An expert system uses information about an individual&#39;s diet and exercise preferences to provide tailored messages related to the plan. The expert system further receives from individuals&#39; responses to messages and other information to determine compliance with personalized plans. Additional tailored messages are designed to increase compliance. As a result, individuals receive personalized instruction in the fields of dieting and exercise without paying the prohibitively expensive fees that are typically associated with personalized instruction. Exemplary embodiments allow the individual to use mobile or portable devices and technology, such as cell phones, PDA&#39;s, Blackberrys™, iPhones™, and others, so that the individual has constant access to personalized instruction regarding his or her personalized diet and exercise plan. 
         [0012]    The personalized instruction is based on an individual&#39;s diet plan preferences, food preferences, meal preparation preferences, and exercise preferences. Behavior challenges are identified and target goals are set. Once the user&#39;s plan has been established, typically by providing the preference and other information through an online website, the user is never required to access the site again as the personalized instruction is given through the user&#39;s mobile device. The prior art is known to center around “pull” technology, where the user must reach out to the system for the information, and if there is inaction by the user, the instruction will stop. The present invention uses “push” technology, where the instruction is sent to the user, and inaction by the user prompts the system to reach out to the user for corrective actions and encouragement. 
         [0013]    It has been found, through the study of behavior informatics, that the use of technology can help people make significant changes in their health. Gradual change, over a longer period of time, is more effective for long-term health solutions, rather than behavior changes that are expected to take place rapidly, over a short period of time. Further, many dieters are more comfortable using familiar technology to assist them with their dieting, as opposed to unfamiliar and possibly uncomfortable office and training room sessions with an actual dietitian and trainer. The present invention incorporates these concepts into a diet and exercise instructional platform based on individuals&#39; preferences to increase the likelihood that individuals will adopt and follow a plan that helps them reach their personal goals. 
         [0014]    An expert system determines user compliance with personalized diet and exercise plans and determines appropriate content and display characteristics for messages sent to a user&#39;s mobile device such that the user&#39;s compliance with the diet and exercise plan is increased. A number of message and display characteristics are monitored for groups of individuals to determine which ones the individuals respond to in a positive manner. Such display characteristics include text messages, pictures, voice patterns, etc. For text messages, the display characteristics may differ from each other in font, size of message, or tone of message. 
         [0015]    In one embodiment, the expert system has a number of stored messages and display characteristics from which it may choose. Every time a message relating to the user&#39;s diet or physical activity is sent to the user by the expert system, a set of display characteristics is chosen to display the message. The initial set of display characteristics may be randomly chosen or there may be a pre-loaded initial set to be used for every user. The display characteristics are changed periodically and compliance data relating to whether the user was able to adhere to the plan when certain display characteristics are used is stored. This compliance data is stored in a personal profile, unique to each user. Compliance data can be measured in many different ways including, but not limited to, meal plan adherence, acceptance of specific food selections, and adherence to instructions and advice in messages. The expert system then determines which messages and display characteristics achieve the greatest compliance to the dietary and physical activity schedule and goals. These display characteristics are then used when subsequent messages are sent. 
         [0016]    In addition to the novel features and advantages mentioned above, other features and advantages will be readily apparent from the following descriptions of the drawings and exemplary embodiments 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a flow chart of a process for determining message effectiveness according to an example embodiment; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of a process for generating a message by selecting message content and display characteristics according to an example embodiment; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is an illustration of a physical structure for an example embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    Exemplary embodiments provide a predictive modeling system that determines a set of display characteristics to maximize a user&#39;s compliance to a personalized diet and exercise program. 
         [0021]    Referring to Table 1, data that is tracked and stored for compliance analysis according to an example embodiment is shown. Data may be captured during a user enrollment process and during a user&#39;s interactions with the system. Data categories include: customer (data provided by customer related to customer&#39;s background or profile, financial, nutrition/diet, behaviors, physical activities, and messages), general (data related to user interactions with website), mobile (data about customers mobile device and its use), marketing (data about customer&#39;s introduction to system) and call center (data about customer&#39;s interaction with call center). Customer data includes initial profile data as well as diet and exercise plan and behavioral data. Initial profile data is data entered by the user during an enrollment process and may be changed by the user at any time. It may include such information as age, gender, income, height, weight, etc. Nutrition and diet data includes the user&#39;s diet plan selection, meal preparation and meal time preferences, preferred foods and substitutions, adherence data, and restaurant and shopping list data. Behavioral data includes identification of problem behaviors and strategies. Physical activity data include preferred activities and current activity level. Message data includes data regarding messages sent and received as well as related timing data. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Category 
                 Subcategory 
                 Data Elements 
                 Element Details 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Customer 
                 Profile 
                 age 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 gender 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 income 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 height 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 weight 
                 history 
               
               
                   
                   
                 state 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 BMI 
                 history 
               
               
                   
                   
                 education level 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 ethnicity 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 number in household 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 children in household 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 date of enrollment 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 marital status 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 time zone 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 goal weight 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 rate of weight loss selected 
                 history 
               
               
                   
                 Financial 
                 household income 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 occupation 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Nutrition/Diet 
                 meal plan 
                 calorie level 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 name 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 change date 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 time on plan 
               
               
                   
                   
                 program 
                 duration 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 start date 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 end date 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 cancel date 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 cancel reason 
               
               
                   
                   
                 meal preparation 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 meal times 
                 breakfast 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 lunch 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 snack 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 dinner 
               
               
                   
                   
                 food eaten most frequently 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 count of suggested menu opt- 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 out 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 substitution 
                 made (in) 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 what was substituted (out) 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 meal 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 meal item 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 meal prep 
               
               
                   
                   
                 foods not selected (don&#39;t 
                 at enrollment 
               
               
                   
                   
                 want) 
                 ongoing 
               
               
                   
                   
                 recipes selected 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 adherence (food diary) 
                 breakfast 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 lunch 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 dinner 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 snack 
               
               
                   
                   
                 restaurant 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 shopping list 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Behaviors 
                 problem behaviors 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 strategies 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 strategy success 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 community involvement 
                 member of forum 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 posts 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 response/guidance 
               
               
                   
                 Physical Activity 
                 participate 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 current activity level 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 activities 
                 selected 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 schedule 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 level 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 history 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 calories expended 
               
               
                   
                   
                 smoke 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Messages 
                 Messages sent 
                 time 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 time before response 
               
               
                   
                   
                 message type 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 responses 
                   
               
               
                 General 
                 website 
                 page views 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 time spent on page 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 repeat views 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 unique visitor 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 returning visitor 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 page before 
                 website 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 search engine 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 city 
               
               
                   
                   
                 number of emails 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 recipe views 
                 download 
               
               
                   
                   
                 article views 
                 downloads 
               
               
                   
                   
                 coupon use 
                 Printed 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 redeemed 
               
               
                   
                   
                 shopping list views 
                 downloads 
               
               
                 Mobile 
                   
                 mobile phone number 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 mobile phone model 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 mobile phone manufacturer 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 wireless provider 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 data plan 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 cell phone use 
                 frequency 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 # of times per day 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 times during day 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 average call time 
               
               
                   
                   
                 geo code 
                 lat or UTM (Universal Transverse 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Mercator Grid) 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 long (or UTM) 
               
               
                   
                   
                 messaging plan 
                   
               
               
                 Marketing 
                   
                 heard about 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 email provider 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 preferred communication 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 IM provider 
                   
               
               
                 Call center 
                   
                 use 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 # calls to RD 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 type of call 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 call status 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 customer data 
                 name 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 mobile number 
               
               
                   
                   
                 length of call 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 resolution 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0022]    As Table 1 indicates, user interactions may be monitored and data may be tracked according to each user&#39;s involvement with the system and participation in a diet and exercise program. Information about the frequency and nature of a user&#39;s interaction with the system such as the number of messages sent and received by the user over a period of time, the frequency and nature of responses to messages, and the frequency and nature of interaction with a website is collected to later determine user compliance levels. 
         [0023]    Table 2 identifies queries that may be performed against the data that is tracked and stored. Queries related to navigation, performance, and operations may be performed. The queries provide an indication of the overall effectiveness of the system and may also be used to determine the effectiveness of individual aspects of the system. For example, various “campaigns” may be developed and promoted to all users or groups of users. User interactions may be monitored and tracked as described previously to determine the effectiveness of the various campaigns. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Navigation  
                 Performance 
                 Operations 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Count of active customers  
                 Percent increase/decrease in 
                 Customer acquisition cost per 
               
               
                 compared to goal 
                 number of active customers per 
                 customer segment 
               
               
                   
                 segment (by day/week/month) 
                   
               
               
                 Count of active customers 
                 Number of active customers per 
                 Number of net new prospects 
               
               
                 per account (business) or 
                 account or household 
                 (by campaign) 
               
               
                 household (consumer) 
                   
                   
               
               
                 compared to goal 
                   
                   
               
               
                 Count of products &amp; 
                 Number of customer referrals 
                 Conversion rate of prospects to 
               
               
                 services used by 
                 by customer segment 
                 customers (by campaign) 
               
               
                 customers per segment 
                   
                   
               
               
                 compared to goal 
                   
                   
               
               
                 Percent share of wallet, 
                 Percent increase/decrease in 
                 Up-sell/cross-sell success rate 
               
               
                 account or household per 
                 number of products used by 
                 by customer segment for 
               
               
                 segment compared to 
                 customers per segment (by 
                 additional products and 
               
               
                 goal 
                 week/month) 
                 services 
               
               
                 Percent retention/ 
                 Percent increase/decrease in 
                 Win/loss ratio per account or 
               
               
                 renewal of active 
                 share of wallet, account, or 
                 household per segment 
               
               
                 customers by segment 
                 household per segment 
                   
               
               
                 compared to goal 
                   
                   
               
               
                 Average tenure of 
                 Customer loyalty ratings per 
                 Customer retention cost per 
               
               
                 customers by segment 
                 segment 
                 segment 
               
               
                 compared to goal 
                   
                   
               
               
                 Number of repeat orders 
                 Customer loyalty ratings per 
                 Number of “winback” customers 
               
               
                 by segment compared to 
                 distribution channel &amp; 
                 per segment 
               
               
                 goal 
                 interaction touch point 
                   
               
               
                 Number of product or 
                 Increase/decrease in repeat 
                 Percent of customers by 
               
               
                 service upgrades by 
                 orders/by segment 
                 segment who have interacted 
               
               
                 segment compared to 
                   
                 with us (with our partners) 
               
               
                 goal 
                   
                 within the last quarter 
               
               
                 Percent of customer 
                 Increase/decrease in upgrades 
                 Percent of active customers 
               
               
                 outcomes met per 
                 per segment 
                 enrolled in/with activity in 
               
               
                 segment 
                   
                 customer loyalty program per 
               
               
                   
                   
                 segment 
               
               
                 Customer satisfaction 
                 Customer satisfaction ratings 
                 Number of customers “likely to 
               
               
                 ratings per segment 
                 per customer scenario &amp; 
                 defect” 
               
               
                   
                 segment 
                   
               
               
                 Average time to complete 
                 Task-specific customer 
                 Product feature- or attribute- 
               
               
                 key customer scenarios 
                 satisfaction ratings per 
                 specific customer satisfaction 
               
               
                 compared to goals 
                 interaction touch-point &amp; 
                 ratings 
               
               
                   
                 channel 
                   
               
               
                 Percent of customer 
                 Average time to complete key 
                 Critical cycle times 
               
               
                 responsiveness 
                 tasks (e.g. Return the correct 
                   
               
               
                 objectives met compared 
                 search result) 
                   
               
               
                 to goals for critical 
                   
                   
               
               
                 customer-impacting tasks 
                   
                   
               
               
                 Revenues per customer 
                 Percent accuracy of information 
                 Timeliness (as measured by 
               
               
                   
                   
                 customer) 
               
               
                 Profitability per customer  
                 Delivery timeliness and 
                 Complexity of interactions (# of 
               
               
                 by segment 
                 accuracy 
                 steps, # of interactions) 
               
               
                 Average order size by 
                 Percent cancellations 
                 Inventory availability 
               
               
                 customer segment 
                   
                   
               
               
                 Average spending per 
                 End-to-end transaction 
                 Rates of returns, claims, 
               
               
                 customer by customer 
                 execution accuracy and speed 
                 abandonment, 
               
               
                 segment 
                   
                   
               
               
                 Customer lifetime value 
                 Growth of customer spending 
                 Defect rates 
               
               
                 by customer segment 
                 by segment 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Customer acquisition and 
                 Number of customer support 
               
               
                   
                 retention costs by segment 
                 requests 
               
               
                   
                 Costs-to-serve by segment 
                 Percent customer support 
               
               
                   
                   
                 interactions with 1-touch 
               
               
                   
                   
                 resolution 
               
               
                   
                 Increase/decrease in sales 
                 Early buying signals by 
               
               
                   
                 from new products by segment 
                 customer segment 
               
               
                   
                 Increase/decrease in repeat 
                 Costs-to-serve by channels, 
               
               
                   
                 sales by segment 
                 and touch points 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0024]    The present invention may be used to increase compliance by measuring the effectiveness of various messages that are sent to users. Messages may be varied by content and presentation and then sent to different groups of users with similar personal profiles. Within a group, each member may receive identical or similar messages. After a set period of time, compliance data can be calculated for each group. Different messages can then be sent to the same groups or to newly formed groups. Continuing this process creates a comprehensive set of compliance data for a variety of message types and formats. The approach allows numerous data points to be collected for various types and formats of messages and allows an analyst to determine the effectiveness of various messages. More effective messages may be deployed to larger groups of users to increase overall compliance. 
         [0025]    In order to build groups of similarly situated individuals, data may be purchased from other parties. Users may be placed into different test groups based upon similarities in their user profiles. Each member of a group may receive at least one message with similar display characteristics. For a period of time, different compliance measures may be recorded for each member in the group. Compliance measures for aggregate groups may be calculated as well. These compliance measures include, but are not limited to, percent increase/decrease in number of active customers, percent increase/decrease in number of products used by customers, and increase/decrease in repeat orders of product or service upgrades. These compliance measures may be based on a large sample size, and allow an analyst to test different display characteristics based on the type of compliance it seeks. 
         [0026]      FIG. 1  is a flow chart of a process for determining message effectiveness according to an example embodiment. Once a user group is defined  10 , the expert system determines if the time period for measuring message effectiveness has started  11 . If the period has started, the expert system determines the substance of the message to be sent  12  to the users. Messages may relate to user goals, meal plans, diet and exercise activity reminders, and requests for responses or input related to an applicable diet and exercise plan. For example, if at least some of the users have accomplished their dietary goals for the week, the expert system may send a positive reinforcement message to the appropriate users. Other users may be asked to provide a current weight or to provide input regarding an activity performed recently. Then, the expert system chooses a set of display characteristics to use with the message based on such information as users&#39; personal profiles  13 . The messages are then transmitted for display on the mobile devices using the set of display characteristics  14 . The user profiles are updated to indicate what messages were sent and received. 
         [0027]    A message characteristics data store for tracking the messages that are sent may also be updated at this time  15 . The message characteristics data store may track messages and related display characteristics that are currently in use or have been used for each user, the time period in which they were used, and the resulting changes to each user&#39;s personal profile during this time. Once the period for using the specified message characteristics has passed  16 , the expert system calculates and analyzes the compliance data for the message  17 . The compliance data may be based on the queries identified in Table 2. Messages that result in a greater level of compliance may be used more frequently and adapted for use in other groups or for other purposes. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of a process for generating a message by selecting message content and display characteristics according to an example embodiment. In this example, the expert system chooses one of each of the following display characteristics to form a set: message tone (e.g., positive, negative, neutral)  20 , an avatar  21 , a font  22 , and a border  23 . The display characteristics are not limited to those shown, but may also include other graphics, certain words, certain sentences, voice tones, etc. The message characteristics are then combined to create a message for display on the mobile device. In this example, a congratulatory message with the positive phrases underlined  24 , a black border  25 , and a young woman avatar  26  are displayed on a cellular phone  27 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  shows an embodiment of the physical structure of the system. Each of the connections mentioned here permit data to flow in both directions. A laptop or desktop personal computer  100  is connected to the server  120  through the internet  110 . The user may connect to a website to create an account and enter personal information and preferences for creating a profile. The server  120  is connected to one or more databases  122 ,  124  comprising user data, nutrition provider data (nutritional data related to meals offered by a plurality of meal providers), diet, and exercise data, message data, progress data, compliance data, restaurant, shopping, and entertainment establishment data, reward data, and other data as may be required to provide the features and functionality of the present invention. The server  120  is connected to communication networks  130  (comprising various data transmitters and receivers) through the internet  110 . The various data transmitters and receivers of the communication networks  130  facilitate communications with the user&#39;s portable technology  140  which includes cellular or mobile phones, personal digital assistants, or any other portable device capable of sending and receiving communications through the communication networks  130  and displaying them for a user. An expert system at the server uses the individual&#39;s account information, including information about the individual&#39;s mobile phone, to tailor and send to the individual messages to reinforce and motivate healthy habits. 
         [0030]    In an example embodiment, the expert system is constructed using the J2EE programming language in conjunction with a SQL based database (like Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle DB). AJAX, Active X, and Java components may also be used to handle various aspects of the system. The mobile component of the overall system is constructed using the J2ME programming language sending wireless requests to the expert system over common carrier communication protocols. Communication between the mobile component and the expert system is constructed using XML language structures. 
         [0031]    Any embodiment may include any of the optional or preferred features of the other embodiments. The exemplary embodiments herein disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or to unnecessarily limit the scope of the invention. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles so that others skilled in the art may practice the invention. Having shown and described exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will realize that many variations and modifications may be made to affect the described invention. Many of those variations and modifications will provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the claimed invention. It is the intention, therefore, to limit the invention only as indicated by the scope of the claims.