Development and validation of a self-assesment station: Toward individualized training recommendationsThesis by Yann Le Mat

Supervisors: Guillaume Millet, Jérémy Rossi , Mathias Gery.

Like a medical prescription, the goal of the project is to give to people the best possible dosage of physical activity in order to maximize health gains.

Regular physical activity reduces chronic fatigue and the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers, among other benefits. Interventions based solely on information or education of individuals have only a limited effect on people's behavior. It is therefore necessary to put in place an intervention not only to inform the population but to provide personalized recommendations in order to obtain a lasting change in behavior favorable to health. This thesis will attempt to answer the following question: do an assessment and personalized follow-up increase the annual level of physical activity of sedentary or insufficiently active adults?

In order to provide some answers to this question, this project aims to pursue two objectives. The first will be that people (i) become aware of the effects of their behavior in terms of physical activity / sedentary lifestyle on their state of health thanks to the self-assessment and (ii) can benefit from a personalized recommendation according to the diagnosis and monitoring of their progress over time. The second objective will be to measure the effects of personalized monitoring on neuromuscular function, chronic fatigue, sleep and quality of life compared to general recommendations.

For this, it will be necessary to:

> Develop mobile stations for self-assessment of the level of physical condition (strength, muscular endurance, cardio-respiratory endurance, anthropometry, flexibility, balance, speed of reaction, coordination), motivations and barriers to practice.

> Develop an online platform for personalized monitoring based on the profiles determined by the algorithm according to the results of the self-assessment, the characteristics of the person, the analysis of the needs of the target audience and the local context (type professional activity, transport used, place of residence, etc.).

> Evaluate the effects of this monitoring on adhesion, health, fatigue, neuromuscular function and physical qualities (locomotion-autonomy) compared to a control group receiving general recommendations.

Thus, the objective is to develop a mobile station for self-assessment of physical qualities so that an individual can self-assess his physical condition using different questionnaires but also from simple tests which will define a profile (strength, endurance, power, endurance of strength, balance, coordination and flexibility). From this profile, a mobile application will offer physical activity sessions developed on the basis of the initial tests.

The objective of this thesis is to observe the interest of such an approach compared to standard prescriptions of physical activity leading to the good health of individuals.

Contract duration : 10/2019 to 10/10/2022

Funding: Academic doctoral contract (EDISS)