Nutrient Density Rating and Fullness Factor Food Evaluation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food rating systems are ineffective for evaluating the suitability of foods for multiple nutritional goals such as health improvement, hunger control, and weight management, as they often focus on single nutrients or calorie content, ignoring the impact of dozens of essential nutrients and not accounting for satiating effects.
Innovation Solution
A method that calculates a food's Nutrient Density Rating (NDR) and Fullness Factor (FF) to rank foods based on their nutritional content and satiating effect, allowing for visual representation on a Nutritional Target Map (NTM) to guide food selection for various dietary objectives.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If food rating systems focus on single nutrients or calorie content, then the evaluation is simplified, but the effectiveness in evaluating food suitability for multiple nutritional goals deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple nutrient evaluations into a single comprehensive rating system. It combines calorie content, nutrient density, and satiating effect into one integrated food rating that simultaneously addresses multiple nutritional goals including weight loss, health improvement, and hunger control, resolving the contradiction between simple evaluation and comprehensive effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The food rating system is designed with multi-functionality to serve multiple nutritional objectives simultaneously. The rating incorporates various factors (calories, nutrient density, satiating effect) that make it universally applicable for different dietary goals such as weight loss, weight gain, and general health improvement, eliminating the need for separate evaluation systems
2Device complexity
If food rating systems focus only on weight loss, then the system is simplified, but its effectiveness for other goals such as weight gain or maximizing health deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal food rating system that can adapt to multiple dietary goals through a single comprehensive framework. The rating incorporates weight loss considerations (calorie density), weight gain considerations (nutrient density), and health optimization (satiating effect), allowing the same system to serve diverse nutritional objectives without requiring separate specialized systems
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses parameter changes in the rating calculation to adapt to different dietary goals. By adjusting the weighting of different factors (calories, nutrient density, satiating effect) within the same rating framework, the system can optimize for weight loss, weight gain, or general health goals without changing the fundamental structure of the evaluation system
3Ease of operation
If food lists are finite in nature, then the system is manageable, but the range of possible food selections being nearly unlimited makes it difficult to evaluate suitability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service evaluation system where individuals can independently rate any food item using the comprehensive rating formula. The system empowers users to evaluate their own food choices without requiring pre-prepared lists or expert intervention, making the evaluation process manageable despite the unlimited number of possible food options
Solution Approach 2:
The rating system transforms the evaluation of numerous food options into a standardized parameter-based calculation. By converting diverse food characteristics into measurable parameters (calories, nutrient density, satiating effect) that can be systematically compared, the system makes managing and evaluating a large quantity of food options become organized and manageable
Data Source
AI summary
A method of assisting individuals in making food choices by providing two nutritional indices. One is a numerical expression of a food's overall nutrient density and the other is a separate numerical expression that relates to a food's caloric density that is a prediction of the satiating effect of a food. A visual aid in the form of a graph or chart is provided so individuals using the indices can refer to the chart to determine food selections in accordance with the individual's dietary goals.