A new generation of apps is using image recognition and AI to analyse the nutritional value of food, making it easier for consumers to eat healthily or stick to a specific diet. Vulnerable target groups, such as elderly people and people with brain damage, have benefited significantly from this development. Does this mean that an e-coach will soon be deciding what's on the menu for dinner?
Your artistically arranged poke bowl is served. You take a photo of it using the Pinto app and within a few seconds, you see how much nutritional value the bowl packed with fresh sushi ingredients you just ordered has – and how highly this meal scores based on your preferred diet. To carry out this analysis, Pinto uses the latest photo recognition software in combination with AI.
It may sound slightly over the top, but Pinto is rapidly gaining popularity in the United States. Not only does the app have fans who want to follow a paleo, ketogenic or vegan diet, it is also popular among people who need to be warned about whether food contains ingredients or allergens that trigger intolerances. Pinto can also scan a product barcode and based on this, assess whether it is a sensible choice or not. In addition, the company is working on building an enormous database of ready-made products with food manufacturers. The Calorie Mama app also started in America. Developed by the Calfornia-based start-up Azumio, it uses deep learning technology to analyse images of food. Not only does the app count the calories of the uploaded dish, it also provides meal suggestions for a range of diets.
The Line messaging app, developed by Nestlé Japan as part of the Nestlé Wellness Ambassador programme, is less fashionable and serves a more urgent need in society. Subscribers to this app are mainly elderly Japanese people who run the risk of being (slightly) malnourished as a result of an often unvaried diet. By using Line, they can upload a photo of their meals every day. The app then gives them a recommendation with regard to any potential dietary supplements they may need. The supplements, which are dissolved in capsules of green tea-flavoured milk, can then be ordered at the same time.To be able to tailor this process more precisely, Line users can also send saliva and blood samples from time to time, which Nestlé uses to analyse what micronutrients may be lacking and what illnesses the user has a higher risk of developing. According to an article by the Nikkei Asian Review, Nestlé Japan is setting up a new division with health services, as a result of which it is collaborating with the French insurer Axa. Line already had 90,000 subscribers by May 2018.
Semi-public bodies have also discovered the potential of this latest technology. The NHS in the UK commissioned the development of the Change4Life Food Scanner, which is aimed at adults and children alike. This app also allows you to quickly scan product labels for unhealthy ingredients such as salt, sugar and saturated fat. Although the technology is less advanced (the app cannot analyse photos), the app is very user-friendly. The results are always shown in pictures (the sugar content as a sugar cube; saturated fat as an unappealing fat globule) so that people with literacy problems can also understand it. The Change4Life Food Scanner forms part of the strategy of Public Health England’s health programme, which is hoping to significantly reduce obesity levels among children in England. According to research, a third (!) of children between the ages of 2 and 15 years old were overweight in England in 2017. A number of places are also focusing on this in the Netherlands, including the Wagengingen Food & Biobased Research lab. Both basic and practical research is being carried out here into how state-of-the-art technology can encourage consumers who want to live healthier lives in a way that best suits them. Wageningen Food & Biobased Research is involved in a range of initiatives, including the ‘Receptenchecker’ (recipe checker app), which indicates whether a recipe suits a low salt or low cholesterol diet, or a high protein diet. This app has since been tested on 800 elderly people for usability.
The ‘Eten is beleven’ nutritional app goes one step further and has been specially developed for people with brain damage. They receive support via an iPad when preparing a meal. The app gives specific instructions to the target group – for example, what type of pan needs to go on what gas hob and how to cook hygienically – so that they are able to cook healthy food for themselves once again. In collaboration with TNO, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, the Voeding Slim Thuis project has been launched, which has developed an innovative care and nutrition concept for elderly people living in their own homes. The underlying idea is that a personified e-coach works better for elderly people than general guidelines on healthy eating and exercise.
Read more about the developments at Wageningen Food & Biobased Research