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ASB 2012-2013 - Designing Healthy Habits

Basic Information
Application Process: 
ASB 2012-2013
Trip Name: 
Designing Healthy Habits
Trip Location: 
Bay Area, CA
Air Travel Trip: 
No
Number of Participants: 
12
Trip Description: 

"If you could change any behavior you wanted, what would it be?" Most often people will say "I wish…" and so many of these wishes are related to creating a healthier lifestyle. I wish I would walk more. Wake up earlier. Eat better. Spend more time with my family. What if you had a way to make it happen? A way to engineer to the best of your own ability, a success in making that behavior happen, even long term? 

 A look at the top health problems in the US shows us that we can greatly reduce the risk of many of these problems by making small changes to our behaviors on a day-to-day basis. For example, the leading cause of death in the US is heart disease and cancer. According to the CDC, "$5.6 billion could be saved in heart disease costs if 10% of adults began a regular walking program". Similar changes in daily habits could help alleviate the 50 million US adults with high blood pressure. Seventy percent of this population does not have their blood pressure under control. This could be addressed by changing dietary habits.

 Making small changes to daily habits can have tremendous impacts for the future. Simple human behaviors such as eating healthier and exercising more can act as powerful preventative measures if the cause of the health problem is avoided or addressed. 

 We're going to tackle some of these challenges by learning how to identify the needs and existing behavior models of communities and individuals. We'll identify challenges and use human centered design and behavior models to introduce or implement sustainable health behaviors. During winter quarter we will learn the design process, the principles behind behavior design, and how to apply them to real world challenges. During spring break we will work hand in hand with people challenging what it means to create a healthy lifestyle in the community. And most importantly, we'll meet a group of Stanford students who are also passionate about learning how to create this change and implement a solution for better health. 

Trip Leaders
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Leila Moinpour

I had the good fortune of meeting Leila during our freshman year while on a midnight quest for hot chocolate and some shooting stars. A senior majoring in STS with a focus in Product Design and Sustainable Behavior, Leila prefers sitting in trees to sitting at her desk, takes 20 minutes to eat a small piece of chocolate, and despite all my best efforts, can kick my butt in a staring contest. Though it may seem an odd mix, all of these things contribute to form a pretty eclectically awesome person with a love of life. Her desire to understand people has led her across the globe and solidified her desire to use design thinking to create positive change for people who really need it. This past summer she traveled to Chanagande, Kenya to work with locals on tackling social challenges in the community, and for the past 2 years she has been heavily involved in the Design for America group on campus. I’m stoked to be leading this ASB with her and look forward to beating her in the many staring contests that are sure to come.  

Sarah Gonzaga

Hey EVERYONE! I can't wait for you to meet Sarah. She's kind of cool. She's got a smile and charismatic energy that’s infectious and impossible to escape. A whole inch shorter than me, you’ll find this girl doing anything from rolling around in the crunchy orange leaves of fall to munching on brownies while stargazing. If this isn’t normal enough, under the surface one might uncover a passionate love for elephants. Highly recommended as a conversation starter. Even deeper though, is a love for listening and experiencing all that life has to offer. As a swing dancer at Stanford and girl from New Jersey, she has been working at the NASA Johnson Space center as a co-op during her time at Stanford. As a senior who is studying manufacturing and design, Sarah has fallen in love with the idea of creating social change around the world. This summer she flew off to China to work on a project aiming to empower farmers in a way that addresses the migrant worker challenges using design thinking and behavior design. It’s going to be ridiculously awesome leading the trip with her, and the both of us are so psyched to meet all of you!