US 5,412,560 AGranted

Method for evaluating and analyzing food choices

AssigneeDine Systems, Inc.

InventorDarwin Dennison

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Abstract

A process for evaluation of an individual's food choices based upon selected factors and dietary guidelines is disclosed. The DINE System provides a method and apparatus which allows an individual to determine how well or poorly the person is eating. The invention analyzes the food an individual eats and determines certain predictor and follower nutrients that will give rise to an assessment of how a person's diet matches with various dietary guidelines established by governmental and/or other entities. The invention provides the results of the analysis to the individual complete with messages regarding over or under consumption of key nutrients so that the individual can correct the diet thereby resulting in better eating habits. The invention also gives the individual a "score" by which the person can immediately assess how well he or she is doing with respect to the various guidelines. The higher the number the better the diet.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A computer system for evaluating and analyzing a user's diet, comprising:

(a) a computing device having a memory;
(b) an input device for entering information regarding the user's actual dietary intake into the memory;
(c) a data base in the memory for storing the information;
(d) a nutrient base in the memory for storing consensus dietary guidelines relative to nutrients consumed by the user;
(e) a knowledge base in the memory having rules for manipulating the information in the data base to provide an organized historical record of the user's dietary intake and a recommended future diet for the user;
(f) an application program, for execution in the computing device, for applying the rules in the knowledge base to the information in the data base and the guidelines in the nutrient base and for generating the organized historical record and the recommended future diet;
(g) a result base in the memory for storage of the organized historical record and the recommended future diet by the application program;
and
(h) means for presenting the contents of the result base to the user, under the direction of the application program;
(i) the organized historical record including an analysis of the user's actual dietary intake categorized according to predictor nutrients;
and
(j) the recommended future diet including a listing of particular foods suggested for consumption by the user.

9 more elements

A method of evaluating a person's dietary nutritional intake, comprising the steps of:

a) recording information regarding the person's complete actual dietary intake;
b) entering said information into a computer;
c) evaluating, with the aid of the computer, the person's complete actual dietary intake to estimate actual amounts of nutrients consumed by the person for a particular time period;
d) comparing, with the aid of the computer, the estimate of actual amounts of nutrients consumed by the person for the particular time period with a recommended range of amounts of nutrient consumption for the particular time period;
and
e) generating, based on the information entered and the comparison of the estimate of actual amounts of nutrients consumed by the person for the particular time period with the recommended amounts of nutrient consumption for the particular time period, a dietary intake plan which, if complied with, would make said person's said estimate of actual amounts of nutrients consumed for said particular time period correlate more precisely with said recommended range of amounts of nutrient consumption for said particular time period;
f) the dietary intake plan listing particular foods suggested for consumption by the person;
and
g) wherein the step of evaluating the person's historical dietary intake includes the step of manipulating the person's actual dietary intake to provide an organized historical record of the person's dietary intake, the organized historical record of the person's dietary intake providing an analysis of the person's actual dietary intake categorized according to predictor nutrients.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 07/964,531Filed 20 Oct 1992 · continuation in part
Priority: 27 Aug 1991
Granted: 2 May 1995
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

G16H 20/60
ICT specially adapted for therapies or health-improving plans, e.g. for handling prescriptions, for steering therapy or for monitoring patient…:…
Y10S 128/921
Computer assisted medical diagnostics: diet management
G16H
Healthcare informatics, i.e. information and communication technology [ict] specially adapted for the
Y10S
Technical subjects covered by former uspc cross-reference art collections [xracs] and digests