Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald is reporting on a new program being tested by (and for) health-conscious Japanese phone users, which sees them photographing their meals and then emailing those snaps to teams of nutrition analysts at their hospitals. This is largely in response to a mass-ive change in the eating habits (and, as a result, the size and health) of Japanese in recent years.
According to Satomi Onishi, a public health insurance official in Osaka, the “Japanese have been getting fatter, especially men in their 20s and 30s, and there is concern over what they learned about nutrition when they were younger. We’re hoping that this program can help us to get a handle on the problem.”
The system isn’t quite the instant ’should I eat it or skip it?’ solution provider it could be, though, as it takes the men in white suits an average of three days to respond with a detailed analysis of what (inevitably) was eaten. But over time, if the user is willing to learn from mistakes, things can change.
Doctor Yutaka Kimura, from Hirakata Hospital, explains: “Patients used to fill out meal logs, but people tend to forget things or underestimate their portions. Photographing meals and e-mailing them in is easier and gets more accurate results.”
In the meantime, just one more bowl of ramen won’t hurt, will it?
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