SYSTEM, METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR FOOD INTAKE CONTROL

• US 20180196925A1
• Filed: 01/09/2017
• Published: 07/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mukherjee, Maharaj, Mukherjee, Monimala
• Granted Patent: US 11,200,973 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets

Abstract

A food intake control method, system, and computer program product, includes detecting types of food available to a user, categorizing a list of the types of food available to the user based on a harm of a type of food to the user, and administering a nudge to the user to assist the user in avoiding a type of food having the harm.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented food intake control method, the method comprising:

detecting types of food available to a user;

categorizing a list of the types of food available to the user based on a harm of a type of food to the user; and

administering a nudge to the user to assist the user in avoiding a type of food having the harm.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising identifying a temptation factor for each of the types of food available to the user based on an inclination of the user to select the type of food for consumption.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the administering administers the nudge to the user to assist the user in avoiding a type of food in which the temptation factor for the type of food is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the nudge comprises at least one of:

a haptic nudge;

an audio nudge; and

a visual nudge.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the detecting further detects ingredients of each of the types of food, and

wherein the harm of the type of food to the user is based on the ingredients.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the list of the types of food that are harmful to the user is based on a user profile.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the detecting further detects a location of the types of food relative to the user and relative to each other to create a map of the types of food, and

wherein the nudge includes a directional indicator causing the user to move from a first location of a harmful food on the map to a second location of a beneficial food on the map.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the harm of the type of food to the user is learned from the user becoming ill from the consumption of the type of food.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the temptation factor is determined based on at least one of:

an external condition including weather;

a social presence of the user; and

a mood of the user.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, embodied in a cloud-computing environment.

11. A computer program product for food intake control, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform:

detecting types of food available to a user;

categorizing a list of the types of food available to the user based on a harm of a type of food to the user; and

administering a nudge to the user to assist the user in avoiding a type of food having the harm.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising identifying a temptation factor for each of the types of food available to the user based on an inclination of the user to select the type of food for consumption.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the administering administers the nudge to the user to assist the user in avoiding a type of food in which the temptation factor for the type of food is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the nudge comprises at least one of:

a haptic nudge;

an audio nudge; and

a visual nudge.

15. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the detecting further detects ingredients of each of the types of food, and

wherein the harm of the type of food to the user is based on the ingredients.

16. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the list of the types of food that are harmful to the user is based on a user profile.

17. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the detecting further detects a location of the types of food relative to the user and relative to each other to create a map of the types of food, and

wherein the nudge includes a directional indicator causing the user to move from a first location of a harmful food on the map to a second location of a beneficial food on the map.

18. A food intake control system, said system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory, the memory storing instructions to cause the processor to perform;

detecting types of food available to a user;

categorizing a list of the types of food available to the user based on a harm of a type of food to the user; and

administering a nudge to the user to assist the user in avoiding a type of food having the harm.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the memory further stores instructions to cause the processor to perform:

identifying a temptation factor for each of the types of food available to the user based on an inclination of the user to select the type of food for consumption.

20. The system of claim 18, embodied in a cloud-computing environment.