Development of an obesity management ontology based on the nursing process for the mobile-device domain

Background: lifestyle modification is the most important factor in the management of obesity. it is therefore essential to enhance client participation in voluntary and continuous weight control. objective: the aim of this study was to develop an obesity management ontology for application in the mobile-device domain. we considered the concepts of client participation in behavioral modification for obesity management and focused on minimizing the amount of information exchange between the application and the database when providing tailored interventions. methods: an obesity management ontology was developed in seven phases: (1) defining the scope of obesity management,(2) selecting a foundational ontology,(3) extracting the concepts,(4) assigning relationships between these concepts,(5) evaluating representative layers of ontology content,(6) representing the ontology formally with protégé,and (7) developing a prototype application for obesity management. results: behavioral interventions,dietary advice,and physical activity were proposed as obesity management strategies. the nursing process was selected as a foundation of ontology,representing the obesity management process. we extracted 127 concepts,which included assessment data (eg,sex,body mass index,and waist circumference),inferred data to represent nursing diagnoses and evaluations (eg,degree of and reason for obesity,and success or failure of lifestyle modifications),and implementation (eg,education and advice). the relationship linking concepts were part of