Meal evaluation device, meal evaluation method, and meal evaluation program

Abstract

To provide a meal evaluation device, a meal evaluation method, and a meal evaluation program capable of easily evaluating whether a meal enables sufficient intake of nutrients important for maintaining a cognitive function, based only on the presence or absence of checking of food products.SOLUTION: On the basis of cognitive function maintenance data, a plurality of food products are output in a selectable manner so as to allow selection of food products ingested in meals during a predetermined period. When a food product is selected, a device determines whether the meal corresponds to a dietary habit necessary for maintaining a cognitive function on the basis of the selected food product and the cognitive function maintenance data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a meal evaluation device, a meal evaluation method, and a meal evaluation program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that provides information on whether a food to be evaluated is related to cognitive function. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2020 / 255743 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, conventional inventions have the problem that by registering the contents of meals ingested, it is not possible to easily evaluate whether nutrients important for maintaining cognitive function are being appropriately ingested.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a dietary evaluation device, a dietary evaluation method, and a dietary evaluation program that can easily evaluate whether a meal provides sufficient intake of nutrients important for maintaining cognitive function, simply by checking whether or not the food is present. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, a dietary evaluation device is provided which comprises a memory unit and a control unit, wherein the memory unit comprises a cognitive function memory means which stores cognitive function maintenance data which sets foods confirmed to be relevant to the maintenance of cognitive function, and the control unit comprises a selection output means which outputs a plurality of foods in a selectable manner so that the food ingested in meals for each specified period can be selected based on the cognitive function maintenance data, and a dietary judgment means which, when a food is selected, judges whether the meal corresponds to the eating habits necessary for maintaining the cognitive function based on the selected food and the cognitive function maintenance data.

[0007] In addition, in the diet evaluation device of the present invention, the diet determination means is characterized in that when the food is selected, it determines whether the diet corresponds to the eating habits necessary for maintaining the cognitive function based on the total number of checks for the selected food.

[0008] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the cognitive function maintenance data further includes a weighting value set for each of the foods, and when a food is selected, the dietary judgment means judges whether the meal corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function based on a total weighting value, which is the sum of the weighting values ​​of the selected foods.

[0009] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the weighting value is a value that is changed based on the amount of evidence showing that the food is related to the maintenance of cognitive function, the likelihood of a shortage of the food based on a dietary survey in the area where it is used, and / or guideline information.

[0010] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the cognitive function maintenance data is further set with a regression coefficient corresponding to whether or not each of the foods has been selected, and when a food is selected, the dietary judgment means determines whether or not the diet corresponds to the eating habits necessary for maintaining the cognitive function based on the selected food and the cognitive function maintenance data, by linear regression analysis using the selection or non-selection of each of the foods as an explanatory variable and the cognitive function keep score as a target variable.

[0011] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the selection output means is characterized in that it displays a checklist screen that allows the user to select each of the foods ingested in the meal for each specified period based on the cognitive function maintenance data.

[0012] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the selection output means is characterized in that it displays a message via SMS, a message application, an SNS application, or a web browser that allows the user to select each of the foods ingested in the meal for each specified period based on the cognitive function maintenance data.

[0013] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the selection output means prints out a checklist that allows the user to select each of the foods ingested in the meal for each specified period based on the cognitive function maintenance data, and the diet determination means, when the checklist with the foods checked is read, determines whether the meal corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function based on the read data and the cognitive function maintenance data.

[0014] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the selection output means is further characterized in that it outputs a plurality of foods in a selectable manner so that the food to be ingested in future meals for each specified period can be selected based on the cognitive function maintenance data.

[0015] In addition, in the diet evaluation device of the present invention, the food includes at least one of meat, fish, dairy products, eggs, mushrooms, vegetable oil, green and yellow vegetables, seaweed, fruit, vegetables other than green and yellow vegetables, and soybeans.

[0016] In the diet evaluation device according to the present invention, the predetermined period is one day or more.

[0017] In the diet evaluation device according to the present invention, the predetermined period is 30 days or more.

[0018] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the control unit is characterized by further comprising a result output means for outputting a recommendation, suggestion, or advice based on the determination result of whether the diet corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function.

[0019] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the recommendations are characterized in that they are ingredients that can increase the amount of food selected by the user, the provision of supplements to support insufficient food intake, recipe suggestions, seminars on food diversity or health outcomes, participatory game projects, or notifications regarding the holding of tasting events.

[0020] In the meal evaluation device according to the present invention, the food is a boxed lunch or a frozen boxed lunch.

[0021] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device according to the present invention, the health outcome is the cognitive function or frailty.

[0022] In the diet evaluation device according to the present invention, the selection output means further outputs whether or not a lifestyle improvement task has been performed in a selectable manner.

[0023] In the diet evaluation device according to the present invention, the lifestyle improvement task is a task that can be expressed in short words and leads to an improvement in lifestyle habits, including an improvement in the eating habits.

[0024] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the control unit is characterized by further comprising a task change means for changing the content of the lifestyle improvement task based on the determination result of whether or not the diet corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function.

[0025] Furthermore, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the dietary evaluation device is communicatively connected to a related party device of a related party of the user via a network, and the result output means further transmits the determination result as to whether or not the diet corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function, the recommendation, and the recommendation or advice to the related party device, and causes the related party device to output them.

[0026] In addition, in the diet evaluation device of the present invention, the person related to the user is a family member of the user, a friend of the user, a medical professional, a person engaged in lifestyle improvement guidance, or another user who uses the diet evaluation device.

[0027] In the diet evaluation device according to the present invention, the lifestyle improvement advice is advice on lifestyle habits.

[0028] In the diet evaluation device according to the present invention, the lifestyle habits are the diet, exercise, social participation, or sleep.

[0029] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the result output means is further characterized in that it outputs ranking, rank, or relative information of the judgment results and dietary habits of the other users or the user within a group including the other users and the user.

[0030] In addition, in the dietary evaluation device of the present invention, the result output means is characterized in that it outputs the recommendation, the recommendation, or the advice once a week based on the judgment result of whether or not the diet corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function.

[0031] Furthermore, the dietary evaluation method of the present invention is a dietary evaluation method to be executed by a dietary evaluation device having a memory unit and a control unit, wherein the memory unit comprises cognitive function storage means for storing cognitive function maintenance data that sets foods that have been confirmed to be relevant to the maintenance of cognitive function, and the dietary evaluation method is characterized in that it includes a selection output step executed by the control unit that selects and outputs multiple foods based on the cognitive function maintenance data so that the food ingested in meals for each specified period can be selected, and a dietary judgment step that, when a food is selected, determines whether the meal corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function based on the selected food and the cognitive function maintenance data.

[0032] In addition, the dietary evaluation program of the present invention is a dietary evaluation program to be executed by a dietary evaluation device having a memory unit and a control unit, wherein the memory unit comprises a cognitive function memory means for storing cognitive function maintenance data that sets foods that have been confirmed to be relevant to the maintenance of cognitive function, and the control unit executes a selection output step that selects and outputs multiple foods to allow the user to select the foods ingested in meals for each specified period based on the cognitive function maintenance data, and a dietary judgment step that, when a food is selected, determines whether the meal corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function based on the selected food and the cognitive function maintenance data. [Effects of the Invention]

[0033] The present invention has the effect of enabling even elderly people who find it difficult to record all of their dietary details to easily evaluate whether they are adequately ingesting nutrients that are important for maintaining cognitive function. Furthermore, the present invention has the effect of providing a simple evaluation tool for evaluating diet by checking (e.g., marking O) "foods eaten at least once" in a day. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0034] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a meal evaluation device according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the meal evaluation process in this embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a check sheet in this embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of regression analysis in this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

[0036] 1. Configuration of meal evaluation device 100 The meal evaluation device 100 according to this embodiment can be configured in any unit, either functionally or physically, in a distributed or integrated manner (either as a stand-alone type or a system type). In this embodiment, an example of the configuration of the meal evaluation device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the meal evaluation device 100 according to this embodiment.

[0037] In FIG. 1 , the meal evaluation device 100 may be an information processing device such as a personal computer or a workstation. The meal evaluation device 100 includes a control unit 102, a storage unit 106, and an input / output unit 112, and the units included in the meal evaluation device 100 are communicatively connected via any communication path. For example, the meal evaluation device 100 may include the control unit 102 and / or the storage unit 106 as an analysis environment on the cloud. The meal evaluation device 100 is communicatively connected to other devices via a network 300. Here, the meal evaluation device 100 may be communicatively connected to devices of related parties of the user via the network 300.

[0038] The input / output unit 112 may have a function for inputting and outputting data (I / O). Here, the input / output unit 112 may be, for example, a key input unit, a touch panel, a control pad (e.g., a touch pad, a game pad, etc.), a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, etc. The input / output unit 112 may also be a display unit (e.g., a display, monitor, touch panel, etc., made of liquid crystal or organic electroluminescence, etc.) that displays (input / output) information of application software, etc. The input / output unit 112 may also be an audio output unit (e.g., a speaker, etc.) that outputs audio information as audio. The input / output unit 112 may also be an image input unit (e.g., a camera, etc.) that records images (still images and videos) captured by an imaging element such as a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor as digital data. The input / output unit 112 may also be a fingerprint sensor, a camera (e.g., an infrared camera, etc.) that can be used for iris authentication or face authentication, etc., and / or a biometric sensor such as a vein sensor.

[0039] The storage unit 106 stores various databases, tables, and / or files. The storage unit 106 stores computer programs that cooperate with an operating system (OS) to issue commands to a central processing unit (CPU) to perform various processes. The storage unit 106 may be, for example, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), and / or a solid state drive (SSD). The storage unit 106 may store image data recorded by the input / output unit 112, data received via the network 300, and / or input data input via the input / output unit 112. The storage unit 106 conceptually includes a cognitive function database 106a.

[0040] The cognitive function database 106a stores cognitive function maintenance data that lists foods that have been confirmed to be related to maintaining cognitive function. The cognitive function maintenance data may be weighted for each food. The weight may be a value that is changed based on the amount of evidence that the food is related to maintaining cognitive function, the likelihood of food deficiency based on dietary surveys in the area where the food is used, and / or guideline information. The cognitive function maintenance data may also be assigned a regression coefficient corresponding to whether or not each food was selected. The foods may include at least one of meat, fish, dairy products, eggs, mushrooms, vegetable oil, green and yellow vegetables, seaweed, fruit, vegetables other than green and yellow vegetables, and soybeans. The predetermined period may be one day or more. The predetermined period may be one week, 30 days or more, or 90 days or more. The predetermined period may be a period consisting of a first half period (e.g., 90 days), followed by a break of any number of days, followed by a second half period (e.g., 90 days).

[0041] The control unit 102 is a CPU or the like that comprehensively controls the meal evaluation device 100. The control unit 102 has an internal memory for storing control programs such as an OS, programs that define various processing procedures, required data, etc., and executes various information processing operations based on these stored programs. Functionally, the control unit 102 conceptually includes a selection output unit 102a, a meal determination unit 102b, a result output unit 102c, and a task change unit 102d.

[0042] The selection output unit 102a outputs foods ingested in meals in a selectable manner. Here, the selection output unit 102a may output multiple foods in a selectable manner so that foods ingested in meals for each predetermined period can be selected based on the cognitive function maintenance data. The selection output unit 102a may also display a checklist screen that allows each food ingested in meals for each predetermined period to be selected based on the cognitive function maintenance data. The selection output unit 102a may also display a message that allows each food ingested in meals for each predetermined period to be selected based on the cognitive function maintenance data via SMS, a message application, an SNS application (e.g., LINE (registered trademark), etc.), or a web browser. The selection output unit 102a may also print out a checklist that allows each food ingested in meals for each predetermined period to be selected based on the cognitive function maintenance data. The selection output unit 102a may also output multiple foods in a selectable manner so that foods to be consumed in future meals for each predetermined period can be selected based on the cognitive function maintenance data.

[0043] The selection output unit 102a may also output whether or not a lifestyle improvement task has been performed in a selectable manner. Here, the lifestyle improvement task may be a task that can be expressed in short words and leads to improvements in lifestyle habits, including improvements in eating habits. Here, the short words may be words of about 4 to 20 characters (for example, "Eat protein every morning" or "Chew well").

[0044] The diet determination unit 102b determines whether the diet corresponds to the dietary habit necessary for maintaining cognitive function. Here, when a food is selected, the diet determination unit 102b may determine whether the diet corresponds to the dietary habit necessary for maintaining cognitive function based on the selected food and the cognitive function maintenance data. Furthermore, when a food is selected, the diet determination unit 102b may determine whether the diet corresponds to the dietary habit necessary for maintaining cognitive function based on the total number of checks for the selected food. Furthermore, when a food is selected, the diet determination unit 102b may determine whether the diet corresponds to the dietary habit necessary for maintaining cognitive function based on a weighted total value, which is the sum of the weighting values ​​of the selected food. Furthermore, when a food is selected, the diet determination unit 102b may determine whether the diet corresponds to the dietary habit necessary for maintaining cognitive function based on the selected food and the cognitive function maintenance data, using linear regression analysis with whether or not each food was selected as an explanatory variable and the cognitive function keep score as a target variable. In addition, when a checklist with checked foods is read, the diet determination unit 102b may determine whether the diet corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining cognitive function based on the read data and the cognitive function maintenance data.

[0045] The result output unit 102c outputs (displays or prints) the determination result of whether the meal corresponds to the eating habits necessary for maintaining cognitive function. Here, the result output unit 102c may output a recommendation, a suggestion, or advice based on the determination result of whether the meal corresponds to the eating habits necessary for maintaining cognitive function. For example, the result output unit 102c may output advice based on a lack of ingredients, a suggestion to improve the meal, or information on a recommended additional dish.

[0046] The recommendations may include notifications regarding ingredients that can increase the user's food choices, supplements to support inadequate food intake, recipe suggestions, seminars on food diversity or health outcomes, interactive games, or tasting events. The ingredients may be boxed lunches or frozen lunches. The health outcomes may be cognitive function or frailty. The result output unit 102c may transmit a determination result, a recommendation, and advice regarding whether a diet corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining cognitive function, to a related party device and output the result on the related party device. The user's related parties may be the user's family, the user's friends, medical professionals, people engaged in lifestyle improvement guidance, or other users who use the diet evaluation device 100. The lifestyle improvement guidance may be guidance regarding lifestyle habits. The lifestyle habits may be diet, exercise, social participation, or sleep. The result output unit 102c may also output the ranking, rank, or relative information (relative information about the user) of the assessment results and eating habits of other users or the user within a group including other users and the user. The result output unit 102c may also output a recommendation, suggestion, or advice once a week based on the assessment results of whether or not the diet corresponds to the eating habits necessary for maintaining cognitive function. Here, the frequency may be daily, once every two weeks, once a month, or once every three months.

[0047] The task changing unit 102d changes the content of the lifestyle-improving task. Here, the task changing unit 102d may change the content of the lifestyle-improving task based on the determination result of whether or not the diet corresponds to the eating habit necessary for maintaining cognitive function.

[0048] [2. Dietary evaluation processing] An example of the meal evaluation process according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the meal evaluation process according to this embodiment.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 2, the selection output unit 102a displays a plurality of foods on the input / output unit 112 in a selectable manner so that the subject can select foods ingested in each day's meals based on the cognitive function maintenance data stored in the cognitive function database 106a (step SA-1).

[0050] Then, when a food item is selected by the user via the input / output unit 112, the meal determination unit 102b determines whether the meal corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining cognitive function based on the selected food item and the cognitive function maintenance data stored in the cognitive function database 106a (step SA-2).

[0051] Then, the result output unit 102c displays the determination result as to whether or not the diet corresponds to the eating habits necessary for maintaining cognitive function on the input / output unit 112 (step SA-3), and the process ends.

[0052] An example of a check sheet in this embodiment will now be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a check sheet in this embodiment.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 3 , the checklist in this embodiment has rows corresponding to dates (days 1 to 7) and columns corresponding to foods (meat, seafood, milk and dairy products, soybeans and soybean products, vegetable oil, green and yellow vegetables, other vegetables, seaweed, fruits, and seeds). In this embodiment, the foods may be fixed, or they may be changed based on external evidence or the results of a usability study, so foods may be replaced, added, or removed. For example, in this embodiment, foods in the checklist may be replaced with "vegetable oil," "eggs," and / or "mushrooms." In addition to paper checklists, this embodiment may also include a checklist screen for assessing dietary intake based on whether or not a particular ingredient is consumed, which may be implemented in a browser screen, email, SMS message, or social networking application such as LINE (registered trademark).

[0054] [Example 1] Example 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of regression analysis in this embodiment.

[0055] There have been applications (ajinomoto.co.jp) that support lifestyle improvements aimed at maintaining future cognitive function. For example, some of these apps feature a cognitive function score (diet) that scores, on a scale of 100, whether a person is adequately consuming nutrients important for maintaining cognitive function. The cognitive function score (diet) evaluates nutrients reported by Scarmeas N et al. (2018) for which sufficient evidence exists, as well as amino acids reported by Kinoshita K et al. (2020) for which sufficient evidence exists. Each nutrient is evaluated based on whether it meets the recommended intake range for maintaining cognitive function. The weighted average is calculated based on the amount of evidence (number of papers) for each nutrient. Previously, the cognitive function score (diet) required users to register their daily dietary intake in the app.

[0056] However, for elderly people or busy people, it is difficult to register all meals in the app, so in this embodiment, a simple evaluation tool was developed to replace the cognitive function keep score (diet), which can easily evaluate whether nutrients important for maintaining cognitive function are being appropriately ingested. For example, in this embodiment, a simple evaluation tool was developed to evaluate diet by marking "O" with "foods eaten at least once" in a day.

[0057] Here, in the present embodiment, in the development of a simple assessment tool, food groups highly related to the cognitive function keep score (diet) are selected, and a dietary checklist suited to the purpose of maintaining cognitive function is created. In order to do this, a total of 15 foods were considered as candidates to be checked, including the 10 food ingredients implemented in conventional apps: "meat," "fish," "eggs," "milk and dairy products," "oils and fats," "soybeans and soybean products," "green and yellow vegetables," "seaweed," "potatoes," and "fruit," as well as "lean meat," "other vegetables (vegetables other than green and yellow vegetables)," and "mushrooms," as well as "vegetable oils" and "nuts and seeds," which are rich in vitamins and easy to consume even for elderly people with small appetites.

[0058] In this embodiment, users of the conventional app who agreed to the use of their data in research were stratified by age (40s, 50s, and 60s) and gender, and one day's worth of data from a total of 30 users was randomly extracted. The cognitive function maintenance score (food) and dietary registration data at a predetermined time point for each of the extracted users were analyzed. Here, the randomly extracted users were 4 men in their 40s, 5 women in their 40s, 6 men in their 50s, 5 women in their 50s, 5 men in their 60s, and 5 women in their 60s, for a total of 30 users. The average cognitive function maintenance score (food) was 58.6 points, the median cognitive function maintenance score (food) was 64.0 points, and the range of cognitive function maintenance score (food) scores was 17-86 points.

[0059] Here, when referring to data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's "National Health and Nutrition Survey (2019)," the cognitive function keep score (diet) based on the average nutritional intake of citizens aged 20 and over is 58 points. Therefore, in this embodiment, since the randomly selected users represent an average group of Japanese people and the range of scores is wide, from 17 to 86 points, the randomly selected user cognitive function keep score (diet) is considered to be data that includes various dietary patterns and the external validity of the study results is also high.

[0060] As shown in Figure 4, in this embodiment, each of the 14 foods under study included in the text data of the meal menus registered in this data was marked with an O. Using this data, a regression analysis was performed for each food, with the cognitive function score (food) as the objective variable and the presence or absence of the food as the explanatory variable, to evaluate the presence or absence of association and obtain the evaluation results. As shown in Figure 4, this analysis was not based on a validation study that calculated the required number of cases for each age group and gender to detect the required effect size, but rather on a study that used commercially available app user data and extracted subjects from each age group and gender for whom data was available. Therefore, in statistical hypothesis testing, not only results that met a two-sided 5% significance level, but also results that met a two-sided 10% significance level were determined to have a significant tendency. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, this analysis confirmed significant associations (p<0.05) for seven of the 14 foods: "meat," "fish," "milk and dairy products," "green and yellow vegetables," "seaweed," "fruit," and "other vegetables (vegetables other than green and yellow vegetables)," and a significant tendency (p<0.1) for one food: "soybeans and soybean products." The estimated values ​​for all eight foods for which an association was found were positive, meaning that the association was confirmed that consuming these foods increased the cognitive function score, and it was revealed that the estimated values ​​differed by 10 points or more depending on whether or not these eight foods were consumed.

[0061] Also, Kanda et al. (Research on the relationship between dietary intake status evaluation scores and future cognitive function using NILS-LSA epidemiological data. Japanese Society for Clinical Nutrition, 2023, Kyoto, Presentation number O-116) and Kanda et al. (Research on the relationship between dietary intake status evaluation scores and future intellectual ability using NILS-LSA epidemiological data. Japanese Society for Clinical Nutrition, 2023, Kyoto, According to presentation number O-117, a cognitive function keep score (diet) in the 60s is more likely to maintain the intellectual ability of "picture completion" eight years later compared to a score below 50, a score in the 70s is more likely to have a significantly lower risk of cognitive decline eight years later compared to a score below 50, and a score in the 80s is more likely to maintain the intellectual ability of "knowledge" eight years later compared to a score below 50. Therefore, in this embodiment, detecting a difference of 10 points or more in the cognitive function keep score (diet) can be considered to function as detecting a difference in the risk of future cognitive decline. Therefore, the results of Figure 4 show that by using a sheet containing at least one food item from the following categories, it can be used as a simple checking tool for the cognitive function keep score (diet).

[0062] [Example 2] Next, Example 2 of this embodiment will be described.

[0063] In this embodiment, the significance of focusing on 10 ingredients, namely "meat," "fish," "milk and dairy products," "soybeans and soybean products," "vegetable oils," "green and yellow vegetables," "other vegetables," "seaweed," "fruits," and "nuts and seeds," was examined. Specifically, in this embodiment, all 10 ingredients were weighted equally, and the correlation between the number of ingredients marked with an O and the cognitive function maintenance score (diet) was examined using one day's worth of data from 30 people in Example 1. A correlation coefficient of 0.76 (95% confidence interval 0.55-0.88) was obtained, confirming a significant correlation. From these results, it was revealed that this embodiment can be used as a simple check tool for cognitive function maintenance score (diet) using information on the number of ingredients checked.

[0064] 3. Other Embodiments The present invention may be implemented in various different embodiments other than those described above within the scope of the technical concept set forth in the claims.

[0065] For example, among the processes described in the embodiments, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or all or part of the processes described as being performed manually can be performed automatically using known methods.

[0066] Furthermore, the processing procedures, control procedures, specific names, information including parameters such as registered data and search conditions for each process, screen examples, and database configurations shown in this specification and drawings can be changed as desired unless otherwise specified.

[0067] Furthermore, with regard to the meal evaluation device 100 and the like, the components shown in the drawings are functional concepts, and do not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown in the drawings.

[0068] For example, all or any part of the processing functions of the diet evaluation device 100, particularly the processing functions performed by the control unit, may be implemented by a CPU and a program interpreted and executed by the CPU, or may be implemented as hardware using wired logic. The program is recorded on a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium containing programmed instructions for causing the information processing device to execute the processes described in this embodiment, and is mechanically readable as needed. That is, a computer program for providing instructions to the CPU in cooperation with the OS and performing various processes is recorded in a storage unit such as a ROM or HDD (Hard Disk Drive). This computer program is executed by being loaded into RAM, and cooperates with the CPU to form the control unit.

[0069] In addition, this computer program may be stored in an application program server connected to the meal evaluation device 100 etc. via an arbitrary network 300, and it is also possible to download all or part of it as needed.

[0070] Furthermore, the program for executing the processes described in this embodiment may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium or configured as a program product. Here, the term "recording medium" includes any "portable physical medium" such as a memory card, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory, a Secure Digital (SD) card, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM (registered trademark)), a Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), a Magneto-Optical disk (MO), a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), and a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc.

[0071] Furthermore, a "program" is a data processing method written in any language or description method, and does not matter whether it is in the form of source code or binary code. Note that a "program" is not necessarily limited to a single structure, but also includes a structure that is distributed as multiple modules or libraries, or a structure that achieves its function by cooperating with a separate program, such as an OS. Note that the specific configuration and reading procedure for reading a recording medium in each device shown in this embodiment, as well as the installation procedure after reading, can use well-known configurations and procedures.

[0072] The various databases stored in the memory unit are storage means such as memory devices such as RAM and ROM, fixed disk devices such as hard disks, flexible disks, and optical disks, and store various programs, tables, databases, and web page files used for various processes and providing websites.

[0073] The meal evaluation device 100 etc. may be configured as an information processing device such as a known personal computer or workstation, or may be configured as such an information processing device connected to any peripheral device. The meal evaluation device 100 etc. may also be realized by installing software (including programs or data etc.) that causes the device to perform the processing described in this embodiment.

[0074] Furthermore, the specific form of distribution and integration of the devices is not limited to that shown in the drawings, and all or part of them can be configured by functionally or physically distributing and integrating them in any unit depending on various additions or functional loads. In other words, the above-described embodiments can be implemented in any combination, or embodiments can be implemented selectively. [Industrial Applicability]

[0075] The present invention is useful in a variety of industries, including the food industry and the information processing industry. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 100 Dietary Assessment Device 102 Control section 102a Selective output section 102b Meal Assessment Section 102c Result output section 102d Task change section 106 Storage section 106a Cognitive Function Database 112 Input / output section 300 Network

Claims

1. A meal evaluation device comprising a memory unit and a control unit, The storage unit a cognitive function storage means for storing cognitive function maintenance data that includes foods confirmed to be related to the maintenance of cognitive function; Equipped with The control unit a selection output means for outputting a plurality of foods in a selectable manner so that the food ingested in meals for each predetermined period can be selected based on the cognitive function maintenance data; a diet determination means for determining, when the food is selected, whether or not the diet corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function, based on the selected food and the cognitive function maintenance data; A meal evaluation device comprising:

2. The meal determination means The dietary evaluation device of claim 1, characterized in that when the food is selected, it determines whether the meal corresponds to the eating habits necessary for maintaining the cognitive function based on the total number of checks on the selected foods.

3. The cognitive function maintenance data is Furthermore, a weighting value is set for each of the foods, The meal determination means The dietary evaluation device described in claim 1, characterized in that when the food is selected, it is determined whether the meal corresponds to the eating habits necessary for maintaining the cognitive function based on a weighted total value, which is the sum of the weighted values ​​of the selected foods.

4. The weighting values ​​are: The dietary evaluation device of claim 3, characterized in that the value is changed based on the amount of evidence showing that the food is related to the maintenance of cognitive function, the likelihood of shortage of the food based on dietary surveys in the area of ​​use, and / or guideline information.

5. The cognitive function maintenance data is Furthermore, a regression coefficient corresponding to the selection or nonselection of each food is set, The meal determination means The dietary evaluation device of claim 1, characterized in that when the food is selected, a linear regression analysis is performed based on the selected food and the cognitive function maintenance data, using the selection or non-selection of each food as an explanatory variable and the cognitive function maintenance score as a target variable to determine whether the diet corresponds to the eating habits necessary for maintaining the cognitive function.

6. The selection output means The dietary evaluation device according to claim 1, characterized in that a checklist screen is displayed on which each of the foods ingested in the meal for each of the predetermined periods can be selected based on the cognitive function maintenance data.

7. The selection output means The dietary evaluation device according to claim 1, characterized in that a message allowing selection of each of the foods ingested in the meal for each of the specified periods is displayed via SMS, a message application, an SNS application, or a web browser based on the cognitive function maintenance data.

8. The selection output means print out a checklist that allows the user to select each of the foods ingested in the meal for each of the predetermined periods based on the cognitive function maintenance data; The meal determination means The dietary evaluation device of claim 1, characterized in that when the checklist on which the foods have been checked is read, it determines whether the meal corresponds to the eating habits necessary for maintaining the cognitive function based on the read data and the cognitive function maintenance data.

9. The selection output means The dietary evaluation device according to claim 1, further comprising: outputting a plurality of foods in a selectable manner so that the user can select the foods to be ingested in future meals for each predetermined period based on the cognitive function maintenance data.

10. The food product is 10. The dietary evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the dietary evaluation device comprises at least one of meat, fish, dairy products, eggs, mushrooms, vegetable oil, green and yellow vegetables, seaweed, fruit, vegetables other than green and yellow vegetables, and soybeans.

11. The predetermined period is The diet evaluation device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the period is one day or more.

12. The predetermined period is 10. The diet evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the period is 30 days or more.

13. The control unit a result output means for outputting a recommendation, a recommendation, or advice based on the determination result of whether or not the diet corresponds to the eating habits necessary for maintaining the cognitive function; The meal evaluation device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising:

14. The recommendation may be: The dietary evaluation device of claim 13, characterized in that the notification is about ingredients that can increase the amount of food selected by the user, the provision of supplements to support insufficient food intake, recipe suggestions, seminars on food diversity or health outcomes, participatory game events, or tasting events.

15. The food material is The meal evaluation device according to claim 14, characterized in that the meal evaluation device is a boxed lunch or a frozen boxed lunch.

16. The health outcome is: The dietary evaluation device according to claim 14, wherein the cognitive function or frailty is measured.

17. The selection output means 6. The diet evaluation device according to claim 1, further comprising an output that allows the user to select whether or not to perform a lifestyle improvement task.

18. The life improvement task is:

18. The diet evaluation device according to claim 17, wherein the task can be expressed in short words and leads to an improvement in lifestyle habits, including an improvement in the eating habits.

19. The control unit a task change means for changing the content of the lifestyle improvement task based on a determination result as to whether or not the diet corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function; The meal evaluation device according to claim 17, further comprising:

20. The diet evaluation device includes: communicatively connected to a participant device of a participant of the user via a network; The result output means The dietary evaluation device according to claim 13, further comprising transmitting the determination result as to whether the diet corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function, the recommendation, and the advice to the related party device and outputting the same on the related party device.

21. The user's relatives: The diet evaluation device according to claim 20, characterized in that the user is a family member, a friend of the user, a medical professional, a person engaged in lifestyle improvement guidance, or another user who uses the diet evaluation device.

22. The lifestyle improvement guidance is as follows: The diet evaluation device according to claim 21, characterized in that it is a lifestyle habit guidance.

23. The lifestyle habits are: The diet evaluation device according to claim 22, wherein the diet, exercise, social participation, or sleep is selected from the group consisting of:

24. The result output means The diet evaluation device according to claim 21, further comprising: outputting a ranking, a position, or relative information of the judgment results and dietary habits of the other users or the user within a group including the other users and the user.

25. The result output means The dietary evaluation device of claim 13, characterized in that the recommendation, the recommendation, or the advice is output once a week based on the judgment result of whether the diet corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function.

26. A meal evaluation method to be executed by a meal evaluation device including a memory unit and a control unit, The storage unit a cognitive function storage means for storing cognitive function maintenance data that includes foods confirmed to be related to the maintenance of cognitive function; Equipped with Executed in the control unit: a selection output step of outputting a plurality of foods in a selectable manner so that the food ingested in meals for each predetermined period can be selected based on the cognitive function maintenance data; a diet determination step of determining, when the food is selected, whether or not the diet corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function, based on the selected food and the cognitive function maintenance data; A dietary evaluation method comprising:

27. A meal evaluation program to be executed by a meal evaluation device including a memory unit and a control unit, The storage unit a cognitive function storage means for storing cognitive function maintenance data that includes foods confirmed to be related to the maintenance of cognitive function; Equipped with In the control unit, a selection output step of outputting a plurality of foods in a selectable manner so that the food ingested in meals for each predetermined period can be selected based on the cognitive function maintenance data; a diet determination step of determining, when the food is selected, whether or not the diet corresponds to an eating habit necessary for maintaining the cognitive function, based on the selected food and the cognitive function maintenance data; A dietary assessment program to help implement.

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