Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are currently emerging as one of the most disruptive technologies enabling and supporting next generation ubiquitous and pervasive computing scenarios. In particular, Wireless Body Sensor Networks (WBSNs) are conveying notable attention as their real-world applications aim at improving the quality of human beings life by enabling continuous and real-time non-invasive assistance at low cost. This paper proposes a high-level programming approach based on the agent-oriented model to flexibly design and efficiently implement WBSNs applications. The approach is exemplified through a case study concerning a real-time human activity monitoring system which is developed through two different agent-based frameworks: MAPS (Mobile Agent Platform for Sun SPOT) and AFME (Agent Factory Micro Edition). The programming effectiveness of MAPS and AFME with respect to the developed systems is finally discussed. Keywords - Mobile agent platforms; wireless body sensor networ...