Ingredient determination device, ingredient determination method, and program

Abstract

To provide an ingredient determination device, ingredient determination method and program, which enable appropriate determination of nutritional ingredients according to the health condition of a user.SOLUTION: A method of determining nutritional ingredients of food and beverages provided to a user implemented by an ingredient determination device in a body composition measurement device having a generation device including the ingredient determination device is provided, the method comprising acquiring a muscle index indicative of a degree of muscle mass of the user and a fat index indicative of a degree of fat mass of the user (S1), and determining the nutritional ingredients on the basis of the muscle index and the fat index (S2).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an ingredient determination device, an ingredient determination method, and a program for determining nutritional components of food and drink to be provided to a user. [Background technology]

[0002] JP2004-272618A discloses a system in which, when a user's symptoms are input into an input means, data indicating the nutrients required for each symptom and data indicating the nutrients contained in each supplement are referenced to determine supplements that can improve the user's symptoms. Summary of the Invention

[0003] However, the inventors recognized that since the above-mentioned system is configured to determine supplements according to the user's subjective symptoms or purpose, the same type of supplements will be provided to users who have similar thoughts or feelings, even if the nutritional components required by the users' bodies are different. The inventors recognized that there is a concern that such a system may provide foods and drinks with similar nutritional components to users with different health conditions.

[0004] The present invention has been made in response to such problems, and aims to provide a component determination device, a component determination method, and a program that accurately determine nutritional components according to the user's health condition.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a component determination device that determines the nutritional components of food and beverages provided to a user includes an acquisition means that acquires a muscle index indicating the degree of muscle mass of the user and a fat index indicating the degree of fat mass of the user, and a determination means that determines the nutritional components based on the muscle index and the fat index.

[0006] According to this aspect, by using two indices of body composition that are likely to reflect the user's health condition and that have low correlation with each other, nutritional components can be accurately determined according to the user's health condition. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a nutritional food providing system in the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a component determining device provided in the generating device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of classification of body types specified by the muscle index and fat index of a user. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of nutritional components required for managing each body type. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a body type management table that specifies the ratio of a plurality of nutritional components associated with each body type. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method for calculating compensation amounts for nutritional components based on a target body type of a user in the second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a target body type compensation table that specifies the compensation amount of nutritional components from a target vector from a user's body type to a target body type. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a display image showing the appearance of a user who has achieved a target body shape. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a lifestyle-related disease prevention table for identifying nutritional components that prevent health risks in the third embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of how supplements are provided to users. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for determining nutritional components in this embodiment. [Figure 12]FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a component determination process included in the method shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0009] (First embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the external appearance of a nutritional food providing system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] The nutritional food providing system 100 is a system that provides food and drink containing one or more nutritional components according to the health condition of the user. Food and drink containing nutritional components include vegetable salads, snacks, juices, etc., and in this embodiment, supplements, which are nutritional supplements, are provided as the food and drink.

[0011] The nutritional food providing system 100 is installed in, for example, pharmacies, fitness clubs, public baths, etc. The nutritional food providing system 100 includes a body composition measuring device 10 that measures the body composition of a user, and a production device 20 that produces supplements based on the measurement results from the body composition measuring device 10.

[0012] The body composition measuring device 10 includes a power switch 1 for supplying power to the body composition measuring device 10, a weight measuring unit 2 for measuring the weight of a user standing on a platform surface 2a of the body composition measuring device 10, and an electrode unit 3 and an electrode unit 4 arranged on the platform surface 2a of the body composition measuring device 10 for measuring the bioimpedance of the user. The body composition measuring device 10 further includes handles 15 and 16 for the user to hold, electrode units 5 and 6 arranged on the handles 15 and 16, respectively, a display operation device 7, a communication device 8, and a printing device 9.

[0013] An electrode unit 3 that comes into contact with the right foot of a user standing on the platform surface 2a, and an electrode unit 4 that comes into contact with the left foot of a user standing on the platform surface 2a are disposed on the platform surface 2a of the body composition measuring device 10. Furthermore, a handle 15 that can be held by the user with his / her right hand, and a handle 16 that can be held by the user with his / her left hand are disposed on the body composition measuring device 10. An electrode unit 5 that comes into contact with the user's right hand when the user holds it with his / her right hand is disposed on the handle 15, and an electrode unit 6 that comes into contact with the user's left hand when the user holds it with his / her left hand is disposed on the handle 16. The electrode units 3, 4, 5, and 6 each include two electrodes, one of which is an electrode for applying a current (hereinafter also referred to as a current electrode) and the other is an electrode for measuring a voltage (hereinafter also referred to as a voltage electrode).

[0014] In the body composition measuring device 10, a current application path determining unit (not shown) determines two of the four current electrodes, and a current application unit (not shown) applies a current between the two current electrodes determined by the current application path determining unit. As a result, a current flows through a path in the user's body formed by the two current electrodes determined by the current application path determining unit.

[0015] Then, body composition measuring device 10 determines two of the four voltage electrodes by a measurement electrode determination unit (not shown), and detects a voltage drop between the two voltage electrodes determined by the measurement electrode determination unit by a voltage detection unit (not shown). At this time, the measurement electrode determination unit determines the two voltage electrodes such that at least a part of the path in the user's body formed by the two current electrodes determined by the current application path determination unit is included in the path in the user's body formed by the two voltage electrodes.

[0016] Body composition measuring device 10 calculates impedance from the current value output by the current application unit and the voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit using an impedance calculation unit (not shown). That is, body composition measuring device 10 calculates the impedance of a portion of the user's body where a path formed by two current electrodes and a path formed by two voltage electrodes overlap each other.

[0017] In this way, in order to measure the impedance of any part of the user's body, the body composition measuring device 10 determines two appropriate current electrodes and two appropriate voltage electrodes using the current application path determining unit and the measurement electrode determining unit. Then, the body composition measuring device 10 calculates the impedance of the any part using the current application unit and the voltage detection unit.

[0018] The display operation device 7 receives the user's basic biological information through the user's input operation, and displays the measurement result of the body composition to the user. Examples of the basic biological information include the user's height, age, and sex. The display operation device 7 is configured, for example, with a touch panel type or a push button type liquid crystal display device.

[0019] The communication device 8 communicates with the generation device 20 or an external terminal (not shown). For example, the communication device 8 communicates with the generation device 20 or an external terminal via short-range wireless communication or a mobile phone network. The communication device 8 of this embodiment transmits the measurement results of the user to the generation device 20 and receives biometric data including past measurement results about the user from the external terminal.

[0020] In this way, the body composition measuring device 10 measures the user's weight and the bioimpedance of each part of the user's body, such as the right leg, left leg, right arm, and left arm, and applies these measured values ​​to a predetermined regression line or regression equation to calculate the user's body composition.

[0021] The user's body composition may include the fat percentage, fat mass, lean mass, visceral fat mass, visceral fat level, visceral fat area, subcutaneous fat mass, muscle mass, bone mass, total body water percentage, total body water volume, intracellular fluid volume, and extracellular fluid volume for the whole body and each part of the body.

[0022] The body composition measuring device 10 transmits body composition information indicating each calculated value of the body composition as the measurement result of the user to the generating device 20. However, the body composition measuring device 10 may also transmit the BMI (Body Mass Index), which is a body mass index, and the basal metabolic rate calculated from the above-mentioned body composition.

[0023] The generating device 20 includes a plurality of containers 21, each of which contains a supplement material. The generating device 20 extracts an arbitrary amount of supplement material for each container 21, and generates the supplement 21a by blending the extracted supplement materials. By storing supplement materials with different nutritional components in each container 21, the generating device 20 can adjust the nutritional components contained in the supplement 21a.

[0024] In this embodiment, the generation device 20 includes an ingredient determination device 30 that determines the nutritional components required by the user's body according to the user's internal health condition, and arranges a supplement 21a, which is composed of one or more supplement ingredients, on a plate 22 in accordance with the nutritional components determined by the ingredient determination device 30.

[0025] For example, the generating device 20 stores nutritional component data related to the supplement materials. This nutritional component data indicates, for each container 21, the components contained in the supplement materials and the content of these components per unit weight of the supplement materials. In this case, when the generating device 20 receives instructions on the nutritional components and their amounts from the component determining device 30, it refers to the nutritional component data, extracts the necessary amount of supplement materials from each of the five containers 21, and mixes them to generate the supplement 21a.

[0026] Alternatively, the nutritional component data may indicate only the components contained in the supplement material for each container 21. In this case, when the generating device 20 receives an instruction of nutritional components from the component determining device 30, it refers to the nutritional component data and extracts a certain amount of supplement material having the specified nutritional components from the five containers 21. Then, the component determining device 30 generates the supplement 21a by blending the extracted supplement materials.

[0027] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the composition determining device 30 in this embodiment.

[0028] The component determination device 30 is a computer that executes a component determination process that determines the nutritional components and the amounts of the components to be replenished to the user's body based on the user's body composition information. The component determination process executed by the component determination device 30 is hereinafter referred to as a supplement determination process.

[0029] The component determining device 30 includes an operation unit 110, a body composition information acquiring unit 120, a body type data holding unit 130, a display unit 140, a nutritional component determining unit 150, a nutritional component command unit 160, a memory unit 170, and a control unit 180.

[0030] The operation unit 110 is configured with a touch sensor, a push button, a dial, or the like, and constitutes a receiving means for receiving input operations from a user. The operation unit 110 receives an operation to switch the power switch of the generation device 20 on or off, and receives an operation to directly specify a supplement.

[0031] The operation unit 110 of this embodiment accepts an operation from a user to instruct execution of a supplement determination process. The operation unit 110 can also accept an operation to input basic biological information or body composition information required for the supplement determination process. Furthermore, the operation unit 110 accepts an input operation of goal body type information indicating a goal body type that the user aims for. Note that the goal body type information may be received from the body composition information acquisition unit 120 after being received by the body composition measuring device 10.

[0032] The body composition information acquiring unit 120 acquires body composition information indicating the user's body composition such as fat, bone, muscle, and water content in order to identify the user's lifestyle habits, which are the habits in the user's daily life. The body composition information acquiring unit 120 of this embodiment constitutes an acquiring means for acquiring, from the user's body composition information, a fat index indicating the degree of the user's fat and a muscle index indicating the degree of the user's muscle mass.

[0033] The fat index and muscle index described above are used to identify the body type of the user. The fat index is an index that indicates the proportion of fat mass in the body, and examples thereof include the fat percentage, fat mass or subcutaneous fat mass, or visceral fat mass, visceral fat level, or visceral fat area for the whole body or each part. In this embodiment, the fat percentage for the whole body is used as the fat index.

[0034] The muscle index is an index indicating muscle mass or an index correlated with muscle mass, and has low correlation with fat index. Examples of muscle index include muscle mass, fat-free mass, or bone mass for the whole body or each part, or BMI or basal metabolic rate. In this embodiment, the muscle index is a muscle mass score obtained by dividing the muscle mass of the whole body by height.

[0035] The body composition information acquiring unit 120 receives the user's body composition information from the body composition measuring device 10, a mobile terminal carried by the user, or an external device such as a management server that manages the user's body composition information. The body composition information acquiring unit 120 may acquire the user's body composition information from the operation unit 110, or may acquire the user's body composition information from an external device such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory.

[0036] The body composition information acquiring section 120 may receive the user's weight and the bioimpedance of each body part from the body composition measuring device 10, and generate body composition information based on these measured values. In this manner, the body composition information acquiring section 120 is configured with a communication circuit, an interface circuit, a body composition calculation circuit, or the like.

[0037] The body type data storage unit 130 stores body type data indicating the relationship between the fat index value and the muscle index value for each predetermined body type. Each body type indicated in the body type data is associated with nutritional components and the amounts of those components required for healthy management of the body type of a user belonging to that body type.

[0038] The above-mentioned healthy body management means changing the user's body shape so as to reduce the likelihood of health damage in the case of a body shape that is likely to be harmful to health (e.g., a body shape with too much or too little fat or muscle), and also means maintaining the body shape in the case of a user with a body shape that is unlikely to be harmful to health.

[0039] For example, the body type data storage unit 130 stores body type data generated for each age and sex. This makes it possible to classify the body type of the user into a body type suitable for the age and sex. Details of the body type types will be described later with reference to FIG. 3, and details of nutritional components required for the user's body type management will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

[0040] The display unit 140 is configured, for example, with a touch panel type or a push button type liquid crystal display device, etc. The display unit 140 displays supplements that can be provided to the user, and displays a screen on which the user can select whether or not the above-mentioned supplement determination process is required.

[0041] For example, when the operation unit 110 receives an instruction to execute a supplement determination process, the display unit 140 displays the user's body type or a body type to which the user's body type belongs among the predetermined body types based on the user's body composition information. Furthermore, when the operation unit 110 receives an input operation of target body type information, the display unit 140 displays the target body type that the user is aiming for or a body type to which the target body type belongs among the predetermined body types based on the target body type information.

[0042] The nutrient component determination unit 150 constitutes a determination means for determining the nutrient components required by the user's body based on the fat index and muscle index that specify the user's body type. Specifically, the nutrient component determination unit 150 determines only the types of nutrient components required by the user's body, or the types and amounts of the nutrient components, based on the fat index and muscle index of the user.

[0043] The nutritional component determination unit 150 of this embodiment calculates nutritional components required for managing the user's body type based on the user's fat index and muscle index. The nutritional component determination unit 150 includes a body type selection unit 151, a nutritional component calculation unit 152, and a target body type compensation unit 153.

[0044] The body type selection unit 151 selects a body type to which the user's body type belongs from among predetermined body type types based on the user's fat index and muscle index. When the body type selection unit 151 of this embodiment acquires the user's fat index and muscle index from the body composition information acquisition unit 120, it refers to the body type data storage unit 130 and selects a body type associated with each acquired numerical value as the user's body type.

[0045] The nutritional component calculation unit 152 refers to the body type data storage unit 130 and calculates the nutritional components and the amounts of the nutritional components associated with the user's body type selected by the body type selection unit 151. The nutritional component calculation unit 152 outputs component determination information indicating the amounts of the nutritional components to the nutritional component command unit 160.

[0046] When the target body type compensation unit 153 acquires the user's target body type information from the operation unit 110, it compensates for nutritional components required to achieve a change to the target body type based on the target body type information. In this embodiment, the target body type compensation unit 153 calculates the degree of deviation between the user's body type and the target body type based on the target body type information, and compensates for nutritional components and their amounts required to reduce the degree of deviation based on the degree of deviation. The target body type compensation unit 153 outputs nutrition compensation information indicating the amounts of the compensated nutritional components to the nutritional component command unit 160 as component determination information.

[0047] The nutritional component command unit 160 selects a container 21 that contains a supplement material having a nutritional component based on the type of the nutritional component indicated in the component determination information from the nutritional component determination unit 150. Furthermore, the nutritional component command unit 160 indicates the number of supplement materials for each selected container 21 based on the component amount of the nutritional component indicated in the component determination information. As a result, the supplement 21a generated by the generation device 20 is provided on the plate 22 as shown in FIG.

[0048] The storage unit 170 is composed of a non-volatile memory (ROM; Read Only Memory) and a volatile memory (RAM; Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 170 stores a control program for controlling the component determining device 30. That is, the storage unit 170 is a recording medium that stores a program for realizing the functions of this embodiment.

[0049] The control unit 180 is composed of a central processing unit (CPU), an input / output interface, and a bus connecting these to each other. The control unit 180 reads out a control program stored in the storage unit 170 and causes the CPU to execute the program, thereby controlling each part of the composition determination device 30 via the input / output interface.

[0050] As described above, the control unit 180 controls each part of the operation unit 110, the body composition information acquisition unit 120, the body type data storage unit 130, the display unit 140, the nutritional component determination unit 150, the nutritional component command unit 160, and the storage unit 170. Note that a CPU constituting the control unit 180 may execute the functions of each part of the component determination device 30.

[0051] In addition, the processing of each part other than the control unit 180 may be realized in whole or in part by dedicated hardware such as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). In this way, the processing of each part of the composition determining device 30 can be implemented by software (program) or hardware, or may be implemented by a combination of software and hardware.

[0052] Next, a method for determining a user's body type based on the user's fat index and muscle index will be described with reference to FIG.

[0053] FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of body type data stored in the body type data storage unit 130. As shown in FIG.

[0054] In this example, the horizontal axis shows muscle mass score (MM / H) as a muscle index, and the vertical axis shows fat percentage (FAT / Wt) as a fat index. Muscle mass score is the ratio of muscle mass MM (Muscle Mass) to height H (Height), and fat percentage is the ratio of total body fat (FAT) to weight Wt (Weight).

[0055] As shown in Figure 3, the user's body type is classified according to the fat percentage. In this example, three ranges are set for the fat percentage: an "average" range, a "lower" range, and a "higher" range. The "average" range is determined in advance based on statistical data or group data on the fat percentages of multiple people.

[0056] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in addition to the fat percentage, the body type of the user is classified by muscle mass score. In this example, three ranges are set for the muscle mass score: an "average" range, a "low" range, and a "high" range. The "average" range for the muscle mass score is determined in advance based on statistical data or group data on the muscle mass scores of multiple people, just like the fat percentage.

[0057] In addition, when the fat percentage is in the low range and the muscle mass score is in the low, average, or high range, the body type data is associated with body types indicating the user's body type as "skinny," "lean and muscular," or "very muscular," respectively.

[0058] Similarly, for the average range of fat percentage and each range of muscle mass score, body type types indicating "lack of exercise", "normal", and "muscular" are associated with the body type data. Furthermore, for the higher fat percentage and each range of muscle mass score, body type types indicating "hidden obesity", "obesity", and "solid obesity" are associated with the body type data.

[0059] Therefore, the body type selection unit 151 can select a body type that corresponds to the user's fat percentage and muscle mass score values ​​from among the nine body type types by referring to the above-mentioned body type data.

[0060] In this way, by classifying a user's body type using not only the body fat percentage, which is easily influenced by lifestyle habits, but also the muscle mass score, which has a low correlation with that fat percentage, the user's body type is less likely to be biased towards one body type, making it possible to achieve more detailed classification.

[0061] Next, a method for determining the nutritional components required by the user's body will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0062] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the tendency of nutritional components and the amounts of those components required for healthy management of the user's body type shown in FIG.

[0063] First, the nutritional components and the amounts of those components selected according to the fat percentage will be described.

[0064] When the user's fat percentage falls within the "high" range shown in Fig. 3, the fat accumulation inhibiting component shown in Fig. 4 is selected to inhibit an increase in fat percentage. The higher the fat percentage, the more the amount of the selected fat accumulation inhibiting component is increased.

[0065] The fat accumulation inhibiting component is a nutritional component required to inhibit (inhibit) fat accumulation. The fat accumulation inhibiting component includes at least one nutritional component selected from a carbohydrate absorption inhibiting component that inhibits the absorption of carbohydrates and a lipid absorption inhibiting component that inhibits the absorption of lipids. Examples of the carbohydrate absorption inhibiting component and the lipid absorption inhibiting component include dietary fiber. The fat accumulation inhibiting component may include a fat burning component that promotes fat burning, and an example of this fat burning component may be allicin.

[0066] When the user's fat percentage falls within the "average" range shown in Fig. 3, the metabolic activating component and rough skin preventing component shown in Fig. 4 are selected to maintain the user's body shape in a healthy manner. The metabolic activating component is a nutritional component required to activate metabolism, such as L-carnitine. The rough skin preventing component is a nutritional component required to prevent rough skin, such as vitamin C.

[0067] If the user's fat percentage falls within the "low" range shown in Figure 3, the vitality activating component shown in Figure 4 is selected to alleviate symptoms that users in this range are likely to experience. The smaller the fat percentage, the more the amount of the selected vitality activating component is increased.

[0068] The above-mentioned vitality activating ingredient refers to a nutritional ingredient required to suppress the decline of vitality, and is a nutritional ingredient that is particularly likely to be lacking in people with low fat mass. The vitality activating ingredient includes, for example, at least one nutritional ingredient selected from an anti-fatigue ingredient that reduces fatigue and an anti-aging ingredient that maintains youth. Examples of the anti-fatigue ingredient include citric acid, vitamin C, and vitamin B group, and examples of the anti-aging ingredient include vitamin E and coenzyme Q10.

[0069] In the example shown in Figure 4, the amount of the fat accumulation inhibiting component is increased as the user's fat percentage increases from a standard value determined by the average, median, mode, etc. of human fat percentage, and the amount of the anti-aging component and anti-fatigue component is increased as the user's fat percentage decreases from the standard value. Furthermore, the rough skin prevention component and anti-aging component are added regardless of the user's fat percentage.

[0070] In this way, based on the user's fat percentage, the nutritional components and the amounts of these components required for managing the user's body shape are determined from among fat accumulation suppression components, metabolism activation components, skin roughness prevention components, anti-aging components, and anti-fatigue components.

[0071] Next, the nutritional components and the amounts of those components that are determined according to the muscle mass score will be described.

[0072] When the user's muscle mass score falls within the "low" range shown in Figure 3, the muscle gain component shown in Figure 4 is selected to prevent further loss of muscle mass in the user who falls within this range. The smaller the muscle mass score, the more the amount of the selected muscle gain component is increased. The muscle gain component referred to here is a nutritional component required to increase muscle mass, and mainly includes leucine.

[0073] If the user's muscle mass score falls within the "high" range shown in Figure 3, the muscle health components shown in Figure 4 are selected to keep the user's muscles in this range healthy. The higher the muscle mass score, the more the amount of the selected muscle health component is increased.

[0074] The above-mentioned muscle-sounding components are nutritional components required to keep muscles healthy, and include metabolism-promoting components that promote muscle metabolism, such as vitamins. The muscle metabolism referred to here means repairing the damage, i.e., promoting repair, when muscle fibers are destroyed and minute damage occurs in the muscle fibers due to training, etc. In this way, muscle increase (muscle hypertrophy) occurs by repeating the destruction and repair of muscle fibers.

[0075] If the user's muscle mass score falls within the "average" range shown in Figure 3, the amount of the muscle health component is adjusted according to the muscle mass score so that the user's muscles are maintained within this range. Specifically, the greater the muscle mass score, the greater the amount of the muscle health component, and the smaller the muscle mass score, the greater the amount of the muscle health component.

[0076] In this way, the nutritional components and the amounts of those components required for the user's body shape management are determined from among muscle building components and muscle toning components based on the user's muscle mass score.

[0077] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a body type management table 131 indicating the relationship between the body type of a user and the amount of nutritional components.

[0078] 5, in the body type management table 131, for each body type shown in the body type table, the ratio of the nutritional components required to manage the body type of a user belonging to that body type and the amount of the nutritional components are associated. A ratio of 2 means that the amount of the nutritional components is normal, a ratio of 3 means that the amount of the nutritional components is greater than normal, and a ratio of 1 means that the amount of the nutritional components is less than normal.

[0079] For example, in the case of "hidden obesity" in the body type management table 131, the ratio of fat accumulation inhibiting components to vitality activating components for fat is set to "3:1", and the ratio of muscle increasing components to muscle health enhancing components for muscle is also set to "3:1".

[0080] On the other hand, in the "standard" section of the body type management table 131, the ratio of fat accumulation inhibiting components to vitality activating components for fat is set to "2:2", and the ratio of muscle increasing components to muscle health enhancing components for muscle is also set to "2:2".

[0081] Thus, in the body type management table 131, the amount of the fat accumulation inhibiting component increases and the amount of the energy activating component decreases as the user's fat percentage increases. On the other hand, the amount of the fat accumulation inhibiting component decreases and the amount of the energy activating component increases as the user's fat percentage decreases.

[0082] In addition, the greater the user's muscle mass score, the greater the amount of muscle healthier components and the less the amount of muscle gainer components, whereas the smaller the user's muscle mass score, the greater the amount of muscle healthier components and the greater the amount of muscle gainer components.

[0083] Therefore, by using the body type management table 131, the nutritional component calculation unit 152 can appropriately calculate the amounts of nutritional components required for the body type management of the user according to the body type of the user.

[0084] For example, when the nutritional component calculation unit 152 determines that the user's body type belongs to the "lack of exercise" type, it identifies the ratio of fat accumulation inhibiting components to vitality activating components and the ratio of muscle increasing components to muscle health enhancing components as nutritional components associated with "lack of exercise" in the body type management table 131.

[0085] 5, since the ratio between the fat accumulation inhibiting component and the energy activating component is "2:2", the nutritional component calculation unit 152 sets a predetermined base amount as the amount of both components. Furthermore, since the ratio between the muscle increasing component and the muscle health improving component is "3:1", the nutritional component calculation unit 152 calculates a value obtained by multiplying the predetermined base amount by 1.5 as the amount of the muscle increasing component, and calculates a value obtained by multiplying the base amount by 0.5 as the amount of the muscle health improving component.

[0086] In this example, the fat accumulation suppressing component, the energy activating component, the muscle increasing component, and the muscle toning component are selected as the nutritional components required for body type management by the body type management table 131, but a metabolism activating component and a skin roughness preventing component may be added to each body type. Alternatively, the metabolism activating component and the skin roughness preventing component may be blended as the main components of the selected nutritional components.

[0087] Next, the effects of the first embodiment will be described in detail.

[0088] According to the first embodiment, the ingredient determination device 30, which determines the nutritional ingredients to be blended into food and beverages, is equipped with a body composition information acquisition unit 120 as an acquisition means for acquiring a muscle index indicating the degree of muscle mass of the user and a fat index indicating the degree of fat mass of the user.

[0089] Examples of foods and drinks containing nutritional components include supplements, beverages, snacks, vegetable salads, etc. Examples of muscle indices include BMI, muscle mass of the whole body or a specific body part, the ratio of the muscle mass to height, bone mass of the whole body or a specific body part, fat-free mass, or basal metabolic rate, etc. Examples of fat indices include fat percentage of the whole body or a specific body part, the ratio of the fat mass to body weight, etc.

[0090] The component determining device 30 includes a nutritional component determining unit 150 as determining means for determining nutritional components required for the user's body based on the acquired values ​​of the user's muscle index and fat index.

[0091] The above-mentioned muscle and fat indices are objective indices that represent the health status of the major components that make up the body, and by using these, it is possible to accurately determine the nutritional components that are objectively necessary for the user's body while removing the user's subjectivity.

[0092] Furthermore, the muscle index and fat index are indexes that easily reflect the influence of the user's lifestyle, and by using these, it is possible to identify the internal health condition that has been formed over a long period of time. Therefore, it is possible to grasp the fundamental internal symptoms that reflect the user's lifestyle, and to provide nutritional components that are highly important to the user's body.

[0093] In addition, since the muscle index and fat index of the user acquired by the body composition information acquisition unit 120 have a low correlation with each other, it is possible to grasp the internal health condition of the user in detail from different perspectives. Therefore, the nutritional components required for the user's body can be determined in detail.

[0094] In this way, according to this embodiment, by using two indices of body composition that are likely to reflect the user's internal health condition and have low correlation with each other, nutritional components can be accurately determined according to the user's health condition.

[0095] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the nutritional component determination unit 150 calculates the nutritional components required to manage the user's body type based on the user's muscle index and fat index. In this way, by identifying the user's body type based on the user's muscle index and fat index, the nutritional components required to manage the user's body type are obtained, so that nutritional components that take into account the user's lifestyle can be blended into the food and drink. Furthermore, by changing the amounts of the determined nutritional components according to the user's body type, a more detailed blend can be achieved.

[0096] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the component determination device 30 further includes a body type data storage unit 130 as a storage means for storing nutritional components required for managing the body type of the user in association with each of the predetermined body type data as shown in FIG. 3.

[0097] The nutritional component determination unit 150 includes a body type selection unit 151 as a selection means for selecting a body type to which the user's body type belongs from among predetermined body type types based on the user's muscle index and fat index. The nutritional component determination unit 150 further includes a nutritional component calculation unit 152 as a calculation means for calculating nutritional components associated with the user's body type by referring to the body type data storage unit 130 based on the user's body type selected by the body type selection unit 151.

[0098] The user's body type, which is determined by the user's muscle index and fat index, is formed by the influence of the user's lifestyle. Therefore, by calculating the amounts of nutritional components required to manage the selected body type of the user, it is possible to determine the nutritional components and the amounts of those nutrients suitable for the user's body type. Therefore, it is possible to provide the user with nutritional components that take into account the body type formed by the influence of the user's lifestyle.

[0099] Furthermore, since the body type of the user is determined based on two indices with low correlation, it becomes easier to assign different body types to a large number of users. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the same nutritional components are provided to each individual user.

[0100] According to this embodiment, the nutritional components to be blended in the food and drink are a fat accumulation inhibiting component that inhibits fat accumulation and a vitality activating component that activates the vitality of the user. The fat accumulation inhibiting component can be, for example, an absorption inhibiting component that inhibits the absorption of at least one of carbohydrates and lipids, and the vitality activating component can be, for example, at least one of an anti-fatigue component that reduces fatigue and an anti-aging component that maintains youth.

[0101] Then, the nutritional component determining unit 150 increases the fat accumulation inhibiting component and decreases the energy activating component among the above-mentioned nutritional components as the fat index increases.

[0102] This allows the provision of nutritional components necessary to suppress fat gain to users with a higher fat mass than average people. On the other hand, people with a lower fat mass generally tend to get tired easily and age easily. For this reason, it is possible to reduce nutritional components such as anti-fatigue components and anti-aging components for users with a higher fat mass, and to increase nutritional components such as anti-fatigue components and anti-aging components for users with a lower fat mass.

[0103] According to the present embodiment, the nutritional components to be blended in the food and drink are muscle-strengthening components that keep muscles healthy and muscle-building components that build muscles. Examples of muscle-strengthening components include metabolism-promoting components that promote muscle metabolism. The nutritional component determination unit 150 increases the muscle-strengthening components and decreases the muscle-building components as the muscle index increases.

[0104] This allows users who have more muscle mass than the average person to have more muscle toning ingredients while reducing less necessary muscle building ingredients, thereby providing a nutritional formula appropriate for muscle management.

[0105] According to the present embodiment, the muscle mass of the user or a parameter correlated with the muscle mass is used as the muscle index, and the fat percentage of the user is used as the fat index. The parameter correlated with the muscle mass is a calculation result calculated from the body composition information, and examples of this parameter include internal indices such as metabolic rate, bone mass, and body water content.

[0106] In this way, by using the fat percentage, which indicates the proportion of fat mass in the body, as the fat index, the magnitude relationship of fat mass to the overall body size of the user, such as height or weight, can be specified, so that the nutritional components required by the user's body can be accurately determined. Also, as the muscle index, an index calculated based on muscle mass can be used instead of muscle mass, and even if such an index is used, it is possible to finely classify the user's body type, as with muscle mass.

[0107] In the above embodiment, an example of determining the nutritional components required for the user's body shape management was described, but nutritional components required for the user to achieve a change to their target (ideal) body shape may also be added.

[0108] Second embodiment Next, as a second embodiment of the present invention, an example will be described in which, in addition to the nutritional components determined in the first embodiment, compensatory nutritional components that compensate for the nutritional components are further blended into the supplement. In this example, nutritional components necessary for the user to achieve a change to a target body shape are blended into the supplement as compensatory nutritional components.

[0109] The composition determining device of this embodiment has the same basic configuration as the composition determining device 30 of the first embodiment, and therefore will be described below using the same reference numerals as those in the composition determining device 30 shown in FIG.

[0110] 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display image 141 displaying a user's body type Bu and a target body type Bt. The user's body type Bu indicates the user's current body type selected by the body type selection unit 151 shown in FIG.

[0111] The display image 141 is composed of a body fat percentage determination area 141a that shows the determination result of the user's fat percentage, a muscle mass determination area 141b that shows the determination result of the user's muscle mass score, and a body type display area 141c that displays the user's body type.

[0112] In the body fat percentage determination area 141a, types of fat percentage are displayed in order of increasing fat percentage, such as "high," "average," and "low," with the average fat percentage at the center, as the determination contents of the fat percentage.

[0113] In the muscle mass determination area 141b, the muscle mass score is classified into three types, "low," "average," and "high," in order of decreasing muscle mass, with the average muscle mass score at the center as the determination content of the muscle mass score.

[0114] The body type display area 141c shows nine body types that are determined by the user's fat percentage and muscle mass score. For body types with a muscle mass score in the "low" range, the body types "hidden obesity", "lack of exercise", and "skinny" are assigned in descending order of fat percentage.

[0115] Then, body types with muscle mass scores in the "average" range are assigned the following body types in descending order of fat percentage: "obese," "normal," and "slim and muscular." Furthermore, body types with muscle mass scores in the "high" range are assigned the following body types in descending order of fat percentage: "solid," "muscular," and "super muscular."

[0116] In this example, the body type selection unit 151 determines that the user's body type Bu belongs to the "lack of exercise" body type. Then, the nutritional component calculation unit 152 selects the types of nutritional components required to manage the health condition of a person whose body type corresponds to the "lack of exercise" body type, and calculates the amounts of the nutritional components.

[0117] In addition to the above-mentioned calculation process of the nutritional components and their amounts, in this embodiment, a calculation process of the nutritional components and their amounts required for the user to achieve a change to the target body shape Bt is further executed. That is, in this embodiment, a compensatory nutritional component that compensates for the nutritional components required to manage the user's body shape is determined.

[0118] Specifically, the user selects and inputs the user's target body type Bt from among the body type types displayed in the body type display area 141c to the operation unit 110 shown in Fig. 2. In response to this, the operation unit 110 receives target body type information for identifying the user's target body type Bt. The display unit 140 displays the user's target body type Bt on the display image 141 based on the received target body type information, as shown in Fig. 6.

[0119] In addition, the target body type compensation unit 153 calculates a target vector V indicating the deviation from the user's body type Bu to the target body type Bt based on the user's target body type information, and breaks down the target vector V into a fat percentage deviation A and a muscle mass score deviation B. Then, the target body type compensation unit 153 compensates for nutritional components required to achieve a change to the target body type Bt, based on the magnitude and direction of both the fat percentage deviation A and the muscle mass score deviation B.

[0120] The fat percentage deviation A described above is a fat index component of the target vector V, and indicates the target deviation of the fat percentage required to achieve the change to the target body type Bt. The muscle mass score deviation B is a muscle index component of the target vector V, and indicates the target deviation of the muscle mass score required to achieve the change to the target body type Bt.

[0121] Next, a method for calculating the nutritional components and the compensation amounts required to realize a change to the user's target body shape Bt will be described with reference to FIG.

[0122] 7 is a diagram showing an example of a target body type compensation table 132 showing compensation amounts Co1 and Co2 of nutritional components required to achieve a change to the target body type Bt. The target body type compensation table 132 is recorded in, for example, the body type data storage unit 130 shown in FIG.

[0123] In the target body type compensation table 132, a compensation amount Co1 of a nutritional component that compensates for the deviation degree A of the fat index I1 is associated with each deviation degree A of the fat index I1, and a compensation amount Co2 of a nutritional component that compensates for the deviation degree B of the muscle index I2 is associated with each deviation degree B of the muscle index I2.

[0124] In this example, the fat index I1 is the fat percentage, and the muscle index I2 is the muscle mass score. The compensation amount Co1 of the nutritional component for the deviation degree A of the fat percentage is the amount of the fat accumulation inhibiting component, and the compensation amount Co2 of the nutritional component for the deviation degree B of the muscle mass score includes the amount of the muscle increasing component and the amount of the carbohydrate component.

[0125] Regarding deviation degree A and deviation degree B, when the distance on the vertical axis and the distance on the horizontal axis shown in Fig. 6 are the same length, the absolute value of deviation degree A and the absolute value of deviation degree B are set to the same value. The absolute values ​​of deviation degrees A and B increase in the order of Va1, Va2, Va3, and Va4.

[0126] For fat index I1, the fat accumulation inhibition component is compensated according to the fat percentage deviation A. When the deviation A is in the direction of increasing the fat percentage (positive direction), the amount of the fat accumulation inhibition component is set to "0," and when the deviation A is in the direction of decreasing the fat percentage (negative direction), the amount of the fat accumulation inhibition component is set to a value greater than "0."

[0127] When the direction of deviation degree A is in the direction of decreasing fat percentage (negative direction), the amount of fat accumulation inhibiting component increases as the absolute value of deviation degree A increases. In this example, the calculation formula of compensation amount Co1 is set so that the coefficient multiplied by basal metabolic rate BM [kcal / day] becomes larger and the intercept becomes larger as deviation degree A approaches "-Va4" from "0".

[0128] On the other hand, for muscle index I2, muscle-building ingredients that increase muscle mass and carbohydrates that replenish energy to the user are compensated according to the deviation B of the muscle mass score.

[0129] Generally, the more muscle you want to gain, the harder the training you need to do. For this reason, carbohydrates are more preferable as a source of energy consumed during training than protein, which increases muscle mass. However, excessive intake of carbohydrates promotes fat accumulation, so here, the carbohydrates are set to have a smaller degree of compensation increase for the increase in the deviation of muscle index compared to the muscle gain components.

[0130] Regarding the carbohydrate compensation amount Co2, the carbohydrate content increases as the deviation B of the muscle mass score increases. In this example, the calculation formula for the carbohydrate compensation amount Co2 is set so that the coefficient multiplied by the basal metabolic rate BM increases and the intercept increases as the deviation B approaches "+Va4" from "0".

[0131] Furthermore, with regard to the compensation amount Co2 of the muscle increase component, if the deviation B is in the direction of decreasing muscle mass (negative direction), the amount of the muscle increase component is set to "0." If the deviation B is in the direction of increasing muscle mass (positive direction), the amount of the muscle increase component is set to a value greater than "0."

[0132] When the direction of deviation B is in the direction of increasing muscle mass (positive direction), the amount of muscle mass component increases as deviation B increases. In this example, the formula for calculating the compensation amount Co2 of the muscle mass component is set so that the coefficient multiplied by the basal metabolic rate BM increases and the intercept increases as deviation B approaches "+Va4".

[0133] In this way, the target body type compensation table 132 is set so that as the absolute values ​​of the deviations A and B, i.e., the distance between the vertical and horizontal axes shown in FIG. 6, increase, the degree of increase in the compensation amount increases in the order of fat accumulation inhibition components, carbohydrates, and muscle mass components.

[0134] The reason why the degree of increase in the compensation amount is increased as the absolute values ​​of the deviations A and B become larger is that it is more difficult to increase muscle mass than to decrease fat mass. In detail, the decrease in fat mass can be achieved simply by preventing the components that cause fat accumulation from being absorbed into the body. On the other hand, the increase in muscle mass is not sufficient just to absorb components that promote muscle building, and it is also necessary to cause a reaction to develop the muscles by performing training, etc.

[0135] By using the target body type compensation table 132 set as described above, the target body type compensation unit 153 shown in Fig. 2 compensates for the fat accumulation inhibition component when the deviation degree A of the fat index I1 falls below the first threshold value indicating "0". The deviation degree A of the fat index I1 falling below the first threshold value means that the deviation degree A is decreasing. In this case, the target body type compensation unit 153 increases the compensation amount Co1 of the fat accumulation inhibition component as the deviation degree A becomes smaller than the first threshold value.

[0136] On the other hand, when the deviation A of the fat index I1 is equal to or greater than the first threshold, that is, when the deviation A is in an increasing direction, the goal body shape compensation unit 153 suppresses the compensation of the fat accumulation inhibition component.

[0137] In addition, when the deviation B of the muscle index I2 exceeds a second threshold value indicating "0", the target body type compensation unit 153 compensates for muscle mass gain components and carbohydrates. When the deviation B of the muscle index I2 exceeds the second threshold value, it means that the deviation B is increasing. In this case, the target body type compensation unit 153 increases the compensation amount Co2 of the muscle mass gain components and carbohydrates as the deviation B becomes larger than the second threshold value.

[0138] On the other hand, when the deviation B of the muscle index I2 is equal to or less than the second threshold, that is, when the deviation B is decreasing, the body shape goal compensation unit 153 suppresses compensation of both the muscle mass increasing components and the carbohydrates.

[0139] In this way, the body shape target compensation unit 153 calculates the compensation amounts Co1 and Co2 of the nutritional components associated with the body shape target compensation table 132 based on the deviation degree A of the fat index I1 and the deviation degree B of the muscle index I2. This makes it possible to compensate for the nutritional components required to achieve a change to the body shape target Bt specified by the deviation degree A of the fat index I1 and the deviation degree B of the muscle index I2.

[0140] In this example, the first and second thresholds are set to "0", but these thresholds may be values ​​close to "0", or may be different values ​​from each other. By adjusting the first and second thresholds in this way, if there is a range in which the need to reduce fat mass is low, compensation for fat accumulation inhibiting components can be suppressed in that range, and if there is a range in which the need to reduce muscle mass is low, compensation for muscle gain components and carbohydrates can be similarly suppressed.

[0141] Furthermore, the calculation formula for the compensation amount Co1 for each range of deviation degree A and the calculation formula for the compensation amount Co2 for the muscle gain component and carbohydrate for each range of deviation degree B are examples and are not limited to these. However, when deviation degree A is equal to or greater than the first threshold value and when deviation degree B is equal to or less than the second threshold value, the degree of increase in the compensation amount that increases as the degree of deviation increases is preferably in the order of fat accumulation inhibition component, carbohydrate, and muscle gain component.

[0142] Also, fat loss is more likely to be effective than muscle gain, and the effect is more visible. Therefore, in the early stages of continued intake of supplement 21a, the compensation amount Co1 may be increased to prioritize fat loss over muscle gain. This makes it easier for the user to maintain the high motivation they had when they first started taking supplement 21a.

[0143] Next, a method for encouraging a user who takes in the above-mentioned nutrients to achieve a target body shape to take in the nutrients will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

[0144] 8 is a diagram showing an example of a display image 142 that abstractly displays the contours of the user when the target body type Bt is achieved. The display image 142 is displayed by the display unit 140, for example.

[0145] The display image 142 is composed of an area 142a displaying the outline of the user's body type Bu, an area 142b displaying the outline of the target body type Bt, and an area 142c displaying the target achievement date for the user to achieve the target body type Bt from the user's body type Bu.

[0146] In this way, by displaying to the user the outline of a person who has achieved the target body shape Bt, it is expected that the user will become motivated to improve their body shape and continue to take the supplements generated by the generation device 20.

[0147] In addition, in a situation where the user is continuously measuring his / her own body composition and the component determination device 30 can continuously obtain the user's body composition information, the target body type Bt previously selected by the user may be maintained without being selected again. This allows the nutritional components to be determined using the degree of deviation between the user's body type Bu and the target body type Bt at the time the user selects the target body type Bt, so that it is possible to determine the nutritional components according to the degree of achievement of the goal.

[0148] The composition determination device 30 may also obtain the duration from the time when the previous value was obtained to the time when the current value was obtained, and the change in body composition during this duration, and use these to determine the effectiveness of the supplement 21a, and correct the compensation amount according to the effectiveness. In this way, if the supplement 21a is too effective, the amount of the supplement 21a can be reduced, and on the other hand, if the supplement 21a is not effective enough, the amount of the supplement 21a can be increased. This makes it possible to bring the user's body type closer to the target body type Bt by the target body type date shown in FIG. 8.

[0149] Furthermore, the component determination device 30 may evaluate the effects of the supplement 21a on each of the fat index and muscle index using the above-mentioned duration and changes in the user's body composition, and may correct the compensation amounts for the fat index and muscle index according to the evaluation values.

[0150] For example, when the evaluation value of the effect of the supplement 21a is greater than the threshold, that is, when the supplement 21a is effective, the component determination device 30 decreases the compensation amount for that indicator. On the other hand, when the evaluation value of the effect of the supplement 21a is less than the threshold, that is, when the supplement 21a is not effective, the component determination device 30 increases the compensation amount for that indicator. This allows the nutritional components to be determined taking into account the ease with which the effect of each component appears due to individual differences such as the user's constitution.

[0151] In the present embodiment, the compensation amounts Co1 and Co2 of the nutritional components required to achieve a change to the target body type Bt are calculated based on the user's current muscle mass and fat mass, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the user's tendency to increase or decrease muscle mass and tendency to increase or decrease body fat percentage may be identified, and the compensation amounts Co1 and Co2 of the nutritional components may be weighted according to the identified tendency.

[0152] In the present embodiment, the user inputs a body type as the target body type information into the operation unit 110, but the input of the target body type information is not limited to this. For example, the amount of increase or decrease in both the fat index and the muscle index for the user's current body type Bu may be input as the target body type information. Alternatively, the numerical values ​​of the fat index and the muscle index may be input directly as the target body type information, or at least the direction toward the target body type Bt may be input among the direction and degree from the user's body type Bu to the target body type Bt.

[0153] Next, the effects of the second embodiment will be described.

[0154] According to the second embodiment, the component determination device 30 further includes an operation unit 110 as a receiving unit for receiving target body type information indicating a target body type Bt that the user is aiming for. The nutritional component determination unit 150 further includes a target body type compensation unit 153 as a compensation unit for determining a compensatory nutritional component for compensating for a nutritional component required to manage the user's body type Bu, based on a target vector V indicating the deviation degree from the user's body type Bu to the target body type Bt. The compensatory nutritional component may be a nutritional component required to achieve a change to the target body type Bt.

[0155] This allows the blending of nutritional components required to manage the body type Bu specified by the user's fat index and muscle index, as well as nutritional components required to achieve a change to the target body type Bt. This makes it possible to provide the user with nutritional components that are highly effective in achieving the user's ideal body type, in accordance with the user's internal health condition. Furthermore, the component determination device 30 may determine the amount of compensatory nutritional components based on the target vector V, in which case a more detailed blending can be achieved.

[0156] Also, according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the target body type compensation unit 153 judges whether the deviation degree A of the fat index, which is the fat index component of the target vector V, is below the first threshold, i.e., whether it is decreasing. If the deviation degree A of the fat index is below the first threshold, the target body type compensation unit 153 compensates for the fat accumulation inhibiting component that inhibits fat accumulation. The first threshold is determined so as to inhibit the user from inhibiting the achievement of the change to the target body type Bt by taking the fat accumulation inhibiting component. The first threshold is set to, for example, "0".

[0157] In this way, the target body type compensation unit 153 judges whether or not the user needs to reduce the fat mass based on the user's target body type Bt, and if it judges that the fat mass needs to be reduced, it can provide the user with a fat accumulation inhibiting component. This makes it possible to bring the user's body type Bu closer to the target body type Bt, taking into account the user's internal condition.

[0158] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7, when the deviation B of the muscle index, which is the muscle index component of the target vector V, exceeds the second threshold, i.e., is in an increasing direction, the target body type compensation unit 153 compensates for a muscle gain component that increases muscle. The second threshold is determined so as to prevent the user from consuming the muscle gain component and thus hindering the achievement of the change to the target body type Bt. The second threshold is set to, for example, "0".

[0159] In this way, the target body type compensation unit 153 determines whether or not the user needs to increase the muscle mass based on the user's target body type Bt, and if it determines that the muscle mass needs to be increased, it can provide the user with muscle-increasing ingredients. This makes it possible to bring the user's body type Bu closer to the target body type Bt, taking into account the user's internal condition.

[0160] According to this embodiment, carbohydrates are used as nutritional components to be mixed in the supplement. The target body type compensation unit 153 increases the compensation amount of carbohydrates as the deviation B of the muscle index increases. This provides the user with carbohydrates to replenish the energy consumed during training in addition to muscle-building components, making it easier to increase the user's muscle mass compared to simply providing protein to increase muscle mass.

[0161] Third embodiment Next, as a third embodiment of the present invention, an example in which nutritional components for avoiding lifestyle-related diseases are added in addition to the nutritional components determined in the first embodiment will be described below. The basic configuration of the ingredient determining device of this embodiment is the same as that of the ingredient determining device 30 of the first embodiment.

[0162] 9 is a diagram showing an example of the lifestyle-related disease prevention table 133 determined to reduce the risk of lifestyle-related diseases. This lifestyle-related disease prevention table 133 is recorded in the body type data storage unit 130, for example.

[0163] In the lifestyle-related disease prevention table 133, the type of nutritional component required for preventing the lifestyle-related disease and the amount of the nutritional component are associated with each biomarker that identifies the risk of contracting the lifestyle-related disease. In this embodiment, four biomarker determination tables T1 to T4 are set.

[0164] The judgment table T1 is associated with a basal metabolic rate W as one of the biomarkers for identifying the risk of lifestyle-related diseases. The basal metabolic rate W is calculated based on the user's muscle mass, age, sex, etc. The lower the basal metabolic rate W, the higher the risk of developing metabolic disorders.

[0165] Furthermore, in the judgment table T1, metabolic activation components and blood circulation promoting components are associated with each other as nutritional components required to improve the basal metabolic rate W. The metabolic activation components are nutritional components that activate the basal metabolic rate, and mainly include arginine. The blood circulation promoting components are nutritional components that promote blood circulation, and examples thereof include arginine and maca.

[0166] For each of the metabolic activation components and blood circulation promoting components, a medium amount A2 is associated with the standard range of the basal metabolic rate W, and a small amount A1 and a large amount A3 are associated with the higher and lower ranges of the standard range, respectively. The amounts A1 to A3 are predetermined values.

[0167] In this embodiment, the nutritional component determination unit 150 refers to the judgment table T1, and when the basal metabolic rate W is below the standard range, selects a metabolic activation component and a blood circulation promoting component as nutritional components for suppressing the risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases, and increases the amount of each. This makes it easier for the user's basal metabolic rate W to increase, and therefore makes it possible to prevent the risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases such as metabolic disorders caused by a decrease in the basal metabolic rate W.

[0168] The determination table T2 is associated with the visceral fat mass X as one of the biomarkers for identifying the risk of lifestyle-related diseases. The greater the visceral fat mass X, the higher the risk of developing metabolic syndrome or the like.

[0169] Furthermore, in the judgment table T2, antioxidant components, fat decomposition components, and lipid metabolism promoting components are associated with each other as nutrients required to improve the visceral fat mass X. Antioxidant components are nutrients required to inhibit oxidation, and mainly include polyphenols. Lipid decomposition components are nutrients required to decompose fat, and for example, dietary fiber. Lipid metabolism promoting components are nutrients that promote lipid metabolism, and for example, dietary fiber and lecithin.

[0170] For each of the three nutritional components, a medium amount B2 is associated with the standard range of visceral fat mass X, and a small amount B1 and a large amount B3 are associated with the ranges smaller and larger than the standard range, respectively. The amounts B1 to B3 are preset values.

[0171] In this embodiment, the nutritional component determination unit 150 refers to the judgment table T2, and when the visceral fat mass X exceeds the standard range, selects an antioxidant component, a fat decomposition component, and a lipid metabolism promoting component as nutritional components for suppressing the risk of contracting lifestyle-related diseases, and increases the amount of each. This makes it easier for the user's visceral fat mass X to decrease, and therefore makes it possible to prevent the risk of contracting lifestyle-related diseases such as arteriosclerosis caused by an increase in the visceral fat mass X.

[0172] In the determination table T3, bone mass Y is associated as one of the biomarkers for identifying the risk of lifestyle-related diseases. The greater the decrease in bone mass Y, the higher the risk of developing osteoporosis or the like.

[0173] Furthermore, in the judgment table T3, bone formation components and bone metabolism supplement components are associated with each other as nutritional components required to improve bone mass Y. The bone formation components are nutritional components required to form bone, and mainly include calcium. The bone metabolism supplement components are nutritional components that support bone metabolism, and mainly include magnesium and vitamin D.

[0174] For each of the two nutritional components, a medium amount C2 is associated with the standard range of bone mass Y, and a small amount C1 and a large amount C3 are associated with the ranges larger and smaller than the standard range, respectively. The amounts C1 to C3 are predetermined values.

[0175] In this embodiment, the nutritional component determination unit 150 refers to the judgment table T3, and when the bone mass Y is below the standard range, selects bone formation components and bone metabolism supplement components as nutritional components for suppressing the risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases, and increases the amount of each. This makes it easier for the user's bone mass Y to increase, and therefore it is possible to prevent the risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases such as osteoporosis caused by a decrease in bone mass Y.

[0176] The judgment table T4 is associated with a body water balance Z as one of the biomarkers for identifying the risk of lifestyle-related diseases. The body water balance Z is a value that evaluates the balance between intracellular fluid and extracellular fluid. The worse the body water balance Z, the higher the risk of developing high blood pressure, etc.

[0177] Furthermore, in the judgment table T4, excretion-promoting components and blood flow-smoothing components are associated with each other as nutrients required to improve the body water balance Z. The excretion-promoting components are nutrients that promote the excretion of excess body water or salt, and mainly include potassium. The blood flow-smoothing components are nutrients that are required to prevent the flow of blood or lymph from stagnating, and for example include melilot.

[0178] For each of the two nutritional components, a medium amount D2 is associated with the standard range of body water balance Z, and a small amount D1 and a large amount D3 are associated with the good and bad ranges, respectively, of the standard range. The amounts D1 to D3 are preset values.

[0179] In this embodiment, the nutritional component determination unit 150 refers to the judgment table T4, and when the body water balance Z is below the standard range, selects an excretion promoting component and a blood flow smoothing component as nutritional components for reducing the risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases, and increases the amount of each. This brings the user's body water balance Z closer to a good state, and prevents the risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases such as high blood pressure caused by the deterioration of the body water balance Z.

[0180] By using this lifestyle-related disease prevention table 133, the nutritional component determination unit 150 can determine the amount of the improving component to be added based on at least one biomarker of the basal metabolic rate W, the visceral fat mass X, the bone mass Y, and the body water balance Z. As described above, the improving components include metabolism activating components, blood circulation promoting components, antioxidant components, fat decomposition components, lipid metabolism promoting components, bone formation components, bone metabolism auxiliary components, excretion promoting components, and blood flow smoothing components.

[0181] In this manner, the nutritional component determining unit 150 of this embodiment determines an improving component for a biomarker, based on the biomarker that identifies the risk of a certain lifestyle-related disease.

[0182] Next, a method for providing a supplement containing the nutritional components in the amounts determined in each embodiment will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

[0183] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a supplement 21a placed on a dish 22 by the production device 20.

[0184] As shown in FIG. 10, the supplement 21a provided from the generation device 20 to the dish 22 is composed of a basic component I indicated by a dashed line, a compensatory component II indicated by a dotted line, and a health risk prevention component III indicated by a double-dotted line.

[0185] The basic component I is a supplement having the nutritional components determined in the first embodiment, and contains the nutritional components necessary for managing the user's body type Bu, as shown in FIG.

[0186] In this embodiment, too, the nutritional component determination unit 150 selects nutritional components necessary for the user's body shape management from among fat accumulation inhibition components, vitality activation components, muscle mass increase components, and muscle health improvement components based on the user's fat index and muscle index, and determines the amounts of the nutritional components.

[0187] The compensatory component II is a supplement having the nutritional components determined in the second embodiment, and contains the nutritional components necessary to achieve a change to the user's target body shape Bt, as shown in FIG.

[0188] In this embodiment as well, the nutritional component determination unit 150 selects the nutritional components required to achieve a change to the target body type Bt from among fat accumulation inhibiting components, muscle mass increasing components, and carbohydrates based on the deviation degree A of the user's fat index and the deviation degree B of the muscle index, and compensates for the amounts of those nutritional components.

[0189] The health risk prevention component III is a supplement having nutritional components determined in the third embodiment, and contains nutritional components necessary for preventing lifestyle-related diseases in the user, as shown in FIG.

[0190] In this embodiment, the bioindices used to identify the risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases are the basal metabolic rate W, the visceral fat mass X, the bone mass Y, and the body water balance Z. Based on these bioindices, nutritional components required to improve the bioindices of the user are selected from metabolism activating components, blood circulation promoting components, antioxidant components, fat decomposition components, lipid metabolism promoting components, bone formation components, and bone metabolism auxiliary components, and the amounts of the nutritional components are determined.

[0191] In this way, food and beverages containing basic components I required for managing the user's body type Bu, compensatory components II required for achieving a change to the user's target body type Bt, and health risk prevention components III required for preventing the user's lifestyle-related diseases are provided to the user from the generation device 20.

[0192] Next, the operation of the component determining device 30 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 11 and Fig. 12. The component determining device 30 may be equipped with only the first embodiment, or may be equipped with at least one of the second and third embodiments. Fig. 12 shows an example of the operation of the component determining device 30 equipped with all the embodiments.

[0193] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of a method for determining nutritional components in this embodiment.

[0194] In step S1, the body composition information acquiring section 120 acquires body composition information including the fat index and muscle index of the user from the communication device 8 of the body composition measuring device .

[0195] In step S2, the nutritional component determination unit 150 executes a component determination process to determine the nutritional components of the supplement based on the acquired fat index and muscle index of the user. Details of this component determination process will be described later with reference to Fig. 12. The nutritional component command unit 160 instructs the generation device 20 on the component amounts of the nutritional components determined by the nutritional component determination unit 150.

[0196] In step S3, the generating device 20 provides the supplement 21a to the plate 22 based on the amount of the nutritional component instructed by the nutritional component command unit 160. Specifically, the generating device 20 selects a container that contains a supplement material having the nutritional component from among the multiple containers 21 based on the specified nutritional component. The generating device 20 then generates the supplement 21a by taking out a predetermined number of supplement materials from each of the selected containers based on the amount of the specified nutritional component, and provides the generated supplement 21a.

[0197] When the process of step S3 ends, the control unit 180 ends the series of processing steps of the nutritional component determination method.

[0198] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process procedure for the component determination process executed in step S2.

[0199] In step S21, the body type selection unit 151 determines the body type Bu of the user based on the muscle index and fat index of the user acquired by the body composition information acquisition unit 120. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3, the body type selection unit 151 selects a body type to which the body type Bu of the user belongs from among nine body type types based on the numerical value of the fat percentage and the numerical value of the muscle mass score of the user.

[0200] In step S22, the nutritional component calculation unit 152 calculates the amount of basic component I, which is a nutritional component required for managing the user's body type Bu, based on the body type to which the user's body type Bu belongs. In this embodiment, the nutritional component calculation unit 152 refers to the body type management table 131 shown in Fig. 5, identifies the ratio of basic component I associated with the body type to which the user's body type Bu belongs, and calculates the amount of basic component I based on the ratio.

[0201] In step S23, the operation unit 110 receives, through an input operation by the user, target body type information that specifies the target body type Bt of the user.

[0202] In step S24, the target body type compensation unit 153 calculates a target vector V indicating the degree of deviation from the user's body type Bu to the target body type Bt, based on the target body type information.

[0203] In step S25, the target body type compensation unit 153 calculates a compensation amount of the compensation component II, which is a nutritional component required to achieve a change to the target body type Bt, based on the target vector V of the user.

[0204] In this embodiment, the target body type compensation unit 153 decomposes the user's target vector V into a deviation degree A of fat percentage and a deviation degree B of muscle mass score. The target body type compensation unit 153 refers to the target body type compensation table 132 shown in Fig. 7, and calculates a compensation amount Co1 of the compensation component II associated with the deviation degree A of the decomposed fat percentage, and calculates a compensation amount Co2 of the compensation component II associated with the deviation degree B of the decomposed muscle mass score.

[0205] In step S26, the body composition information acquiring unit 120 acquires a biomarker for identifying the user's risk of developing a lifestyle-related disease. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 9, the body composition information acquiring unit 120 acquires at least one biomarker from the user's basal metabolic rate W, visceral fat mass X, bone mass Y, and body water balance Z.

[0206] In step S27, the nutritional component determining unit 150 calculates, based on the biological index from the body composition information acquiring unit 120, the amount of health risk preventive component III to be added, which is a nutritional component required to suppress the risk of contracting lifestyle-related diseases.

[0207] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, when the nutrient component determination unit 150 determines that the basal metabolic rate W is low, it selects a metabolic activation component and a blood circulation promoting component as the health risk prevention component III, and increases the amount of each component added. When the visceral fat mass X is determined to be high, the nutrient component determination unit 150 selects an antioxidant component, a fat decomposition component, and a lipid metabolism promoting component as the health risk prevention component III, and increases the amount of each component added. When the bone mass Y is determined to be low, the nutrient component determination unit 150 selects a bone formation component and a bone metabolism supplement component as the health risk prevention component III, and increases the amount of each component added. When the body water balance Z is determined to be poor, the nutrient component determination unit 150 selects an excretion promoting component and a blood flow smoothing component as the health risk prevention component III, and increases the amount of each component added.

[0208] In step S28, the nutritional component determination unit 150 outputs the above-mentioned calculation results of the nutritional components to the nutritional component command unit 160 as component determination information.

[0209] Specifically, the nutritional component determination unit 150 generates and outputs component determination information indicating the component amount of basic component I calculated in step S22, the compensation amount of compensatory component II calculated in step S25, and the added amount of health risk preventive component III calculated in step S27. The nutritional component command unit 160 instructs the combination of the component amount of basic component I, the compensation amount of compensatory component II, and the added amount of health risk preventive component III based on the component determination information.

[0210] When the process of step S28 ends, the control unit 180 ends the subroutine of the component determination process, and returns to the main routine of the nutritional component determination method shown in Fig. 11. Note that the processes of steps S23 to S27 may be omitted, or any one of the processes of steps S23 to S25 and steps S26 and S27 may be omitted.

[0211] In this embodiment, an example has been described in which health risk preventive components III are determined using biomarkers that can identify the risk of lifestyle-related diseases. However, the nutritional component determination unit 150 may also determine adjusting components IV that regulate the body condition as other nutritional components using measurement results from other measuring devices.

[0212] For example, as another measuring device, a breath measuring device that measures acetone in the breath of a user and calculates a lipid metabolism evaluation value based on the measured value may be used. In this case, the body composition information acquiring unit 120 receives the lipid metabolism evaluation value of the user from the breath measuring device, and the nutritional component determining unit 150 calculates the amount of at least one adjusting component IV to be added, for example, an antioxidant component, a lipolytic component, and a lipid metabolism promoting component, based on the lipid metabolism evaluation value.

[0213] Alternatively, as another measuring device, an activity measuring device may be used that measures the amount of activity of a user and calculates an activity evaluation value that evaluates the amount of activity on the day before the measurement or last week, etc. In this case, the body composition information acquiring unit 120 receives the activity evaluation value of the user from the activity measuring device, and the nutritional component determining unit 150 calculates the amount of at least one adjusting component IV to be added, for example, a metabolism activating component and a blood circulation promoting component, based on the activity evaluation value.

[0214] Alternatively, a sleep measuring device that measures the sleep state of the user and calculates a sleep evaluation value that evaluates the quality of sleep based on the measured value may be used as another measuring device. In this case, the body composition information acquiring unit 120 receives the sleep evaluation value of the user from the sleep measuring device, and the nutritional component determining unit 150 calculates the amount of adjusting component IV, such as an anti-fatigue component, to be added based on the sleep evaluation value.

[0215] As another embodiment, the nutrient component determination unit 150 of any one of the first to third embodiments may further determine the adjusting component IV and the component amount of the adjusting component IV using the measurement results of another measurement device as described above. That is, the nutrient component determination unit 150 determines the component amount of the adjusting component IV in addition to the component amount of at least one nutrient component among the component amount of the basic component I, the compensation amount of the compensating component II, and the added amount of the health risk preventive component III.

[0216] In the above embodiment, the body composition information acquiring unit 120 determines the nutritional components and their amounts based on the body composition information, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the body composition information acquiring unit 120 may predict the nutritional components and their amounts to be ingested in a meal, and subtract the predicted nutritional components and their amounts from the nutritional components determined in the above embodiment. In this case, the nutritional component determining unit 150 determines the nutritional components and their amounts of the supplement by subtracting the nutritional components predicted to be ingested in a meal from the determined nutritional component amounts.

[0217] The nutrients and amounts of those nutrients predicted to be ingested in a meal may be fixed, or may be predicted based on answers to questions about the meal, or may be predicted by obtaining or analyzing other data, such as from a meal management app.

[0218] Next, the effects of the third embodiment will be described.

[0219] According to the third embodiment, the nutritional component determination unit 150 determines the amount of improving component to be added that is required to improve a biomarker based on the value of the biomarker that identifies the risk of a certain lifestyle-related disease. In this way, the amount of improving component to be added is determined according to the level of risk of the lifestyle-related disease, so that it is possible to reduce the user's risk of contracting a lifestyle-related disease. Note that the nutritional component determination unit 150 may determine only the type of improving component. Even in this case, it is possible to reduce the user's risk of contracting a lifestyle-related disease.

[0220] According to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, at least one of the user's basal metabolic rate W, visceral fat mass X, bone mass Y, and body water balance Z is used as a biomarker for identifying the risk of lifestyle-related diseases.

[0221] As the improving component for the basal metabolic rate W, at least one of the nutritional components of a metabolic activation component that activates the basal metabolic rate and a blood circulation promoting component that promotes blood circulation is used. As the improving component for the visceral fat mass X, at least one of the nutritional components of an antioxidant component, a fat decomposition component that breaks down fat, and a lipid metabolism promoting component that promotes lipid metabolism is used. As the improving component for the bone mass Y, at least one of the nutritional components of a bone formation component that forms bone and a bone metabolism supporting component that supports bone metabolism is used.

[0222] In this way, the metabolic activation component and blood circulation promoting component are increased in accordance with the decrease in the user's basal metabolic rate W, so that the risk of the user developing metabolic abnormalities can be prevented. In addition, the antioxidant component, fat decomposition component, and lipid metabolism promoting component are increased in accordance with the increase in the user's visceral fat mass X, so that the risk of the user developing metabolic syndrome can be suppressed. In other words, health risks such as dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, and fasting hyperglycemia can be reduced. Furthermore, the bone formation component and bone adjustment component are increased in accordance with the decrease in the user's bone mass Y, so that the risk of developing osteoporosis can be prevented.

[0223] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above-described embodiments merely illustrate some of the application examples of the present invention, and it is not intended that the technical scope of the present invention be limited to the specific configurations of the above-described embodiments.

[0224] In the above-described embodiment, as an embodiment of the component determination device 30 that determines the nutritional components required by the user's body in accordance with the user's internal health condition, a mode in which the type and amount of nutritional components are determined has been described. However, it is also possible to determine only the type of nutritional component.

[0225] In the above embodiment, the generating device 20 generates the supplement 21a by blending the supplement materials extracted from each of the containers 21 in an arbitrary amount, but the generating device 20 is not limited to this. For example, each of the multiple containers 21 of the generating device 20 may contain a capsule-shaped, pill-shaped, tablet-shaped, or other shaped supplement, and each container 21 may contain a different type of supplement. In this case, the generating device 20 may provide a combination of supplements by selecting a predetermined container from the multiple containers 21 according to the ingredients and the amounts of the ingredients determined by the ingredient determining device 30.

[0226] Furthermore, when providing the supplement 21a, the production device 20 may execute a payment process using money or electronic money, and provide the supplement 21a when the payment is completed.

[0227] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-066021, filed with the Japan Patent Office on March 29, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. [Explanation of symbols]

[0228] 10 Body composition measuring device 20 Generator 30 Composition determination device 110 Operation unit (reception means) 120 Body composition information acquisition unit (acquisition means) 130 Body type data storage unit (storage means) 150 Nutritional component determination unit (determination means) 151 Body type selection unit (selection means) 152 Nutritional component calculation unit (calculation means) 153 Target body type compensation section (compensation means) 170 Memory section (program)

Claims

1. A component determination device for determining the nutritional components of food and drink provided to a user, comprising: an acquisition means for acquiring a muscle index indicating the degree of the user's muscle mass and a fat index indicating the degree of the user's fat mass; a determination means for determining the nutritional components necessary for managing the body type of the user specified by the muscle index and the fat index based on the muscle index and the fat index; A component determination device characterized by including the above.

2. The component determination device according to Claim 1, further comprising: a holding means for associating and holding nutritional components determined based on a combination of a muscle index and a fat index for each predetermined body type; The determination means includes: a selection means for selecting, from among the predetermined body types, the body type to which the user's body type belongs based on the muscle index and the fat index; a reference means for referring to the holding means and referring to the nutritional components associated with the body type selected by the selection means based on the body type selected by the selection means. A component determination device.

3. The component determination device according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein: the nutritional components include a suppressing component for suppressing the accumulation of fat, an activating component for activating the vitality of the user, a strengthening component for keeping the muscles healthy, and an increasing component for increasing the muscles; The determination means: increases the suppressing component and decreases the activating component as the fat index increases; increases the strengthening component and decreases the increasing component as the muscle index increases. A component determination device.

4. The component determination device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a receiving means for receiving body type information indicating a target body type targeted by the user; The determination means determines the nutritional components based on the degree of deviation from the user's body type to the target body type. A component determination device.

5. The component determination device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a receiving means for receiving body type information indicating a target body type targeted by the user; The determination means further includes a compensation means for determining a compensated nutritional component for compensating the nutritional components based on the degree of deviation from the user's body type to the target body type. A component determination device.

6. The component determination device according to Claim 5, wherein: When the fat index component of the deviation degree is lower than a first threshold value, the compensation means determines the compensation nutrient component so as to include a suppression component that suppresses fat accumulation. Component determination device. **Claim 7** The component determination device according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein When the muscle index component of the deviation degree exceeds a second threshold value, the compensation means determines the compensation nutrient component so as to include an increment component that increases muscle. Component determination device. **Claim 8** The component determination device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein The nutrient component includes carbohydrates, The compensation means increases the compensation amount of the carbohydrates as the muscle index component of the deviation degree increases. Component determination device. **Claim 9** The component determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein The muscle index is the muscle mass of the user or a parameter correlated with the muscle mass, The fat index is the body fat percentage of the user. Component determination device. **Claim 10** The component determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein The determination means determines an improvement component for the biological index as the nutrient component based on a biological index that specifies the risk of a predetermined lifestyle disease. Component determination device. **Claim 11** The component determination device according to claim 10, wherein The biological index includes at least one of the basal metabolism, visceral fat, and bone mass of the user, The improvement component for the basal metabolism includes at least one of a component that activates the basal metabolism and a component that promotes blood circulation, The improvement component for the visceral fat includes at least one of an antioxidant component, a component that decomposes fat, and a component that promotes lipid metabolism, The improvement component for the bone mass includes at least one of a component that forms bone and a component that assists bone metabolism. Component determination device. **Claim 12** The component determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein The determination means determines an adjustment component that further adjusts the physical condition as another nutrient component based on an evaluation value of at least one of the exhalation, activity level, and sleep of the user. Component determination device. **Claim 13** A component determination method executed by a computer and determining the nutrient components of food and drink provided to a user, comprising: A step of acquiring a muscle index indicating the degree of the user's muscle mass and a fat index indicating the degree of the user's fat mass. Determining the nutritional components necessary for managing the body type of the user specified by the muscle index and the fat index based on the muscle index and the fat index; A component determination method characterized by including the above.

14. A computer for determining the nutritional components of food and drink provided to a user, acquiring a muscle index indicating the degree of the user's muscle mass and a fat index indicating the degree of the user's fat mass; determining the nutritional components necessary for managing the body type of the user specified by the muscle index and the fat index based on the muscle index and the fat index; A program for causing the above to be executed.

Images