Obesity is a struggle for many. In fact, the U.S. adult obesity rate has surpassed the 40% mark, a rank that has kept the U.S. as one of the most obese nations, weighing in at 42.2% in 2017 through 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with an estimated annual medical cost of $147 billion. Obesity is just not about being overweight. It often leads to medical conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and adult-onset diabetes.
To help decrease these numbers, Peter Tseng, Ph.D., UC Irvine (UCI) assistant professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the Henry Samueli School of Engineering is refining a UCI available technology that aims to monitor a person’s fat, salt, sugar and water intake with a wearable bio-sensor. The bio-sensor counts the amount of certain molecules from the nutrients and water that a user might consume and transmits data to a user interface, such as a smartphone app.
By tracking a user’s consumption, a user may feel empowered to make healthier food choices.
“We wanted to make sensors that could hone in on those other major nutrient classes because intake of those nutrient classes is very much linked to our health — how much water you drink throughout the day, the salt, the fat, the sugar you’re getting,” said Tseng. “That all has impacts on your health.”
The tiny sensor can be placed on a person’s wrist, teeth and also on inanimate objects, like a cup or cutlery. The research team has tested the sensors with solid and liquid substances like soups, meats and milks that range in fat content, and teas containing milk and sugar.
“If we have a piece of food in front of us, we don’t know what’s in there, especially if it’s prepared in a restaurant. Even if I prepare that piece of food, I don’t know how much salt I’ve added,” said Tseng. “And nutrition is so important in our everyday health; these sensors can be deployed in an everyday setting.”
Wearable technologies, such as a smartwatches and smartphones, can record a range of physical measurements, such as the number of steps taken, a heartbeat and blood pressure, and essentially measure stretch, strain or pressure, according to Tseng. But it is equally, if not more important, to truly measure what is consumed.
“That’s all physical. Our body is [mostly] chemical machinery … it’s not physical, though physical is important,” said Tseng. “That chemistry is something we need to be able to address and assess on-demand.”
The research team has worked with UCI Beall Applied Innovation’s Research Translation Group, which connects research and inventions with opportunities, to patent the technology.
“[Research Translation Group’s] rapid responses are very strong,” said Tseng. “I really appreciate that responsiveness and we’ve actually gotten quite a bit of interest on the food sensors thanks to that group.”
The team will continue to pursue grants with hopes of commercialization after more research and development around the technology and its potential applications.
Learn more about research translation at Applied Innovation.
Main Image: A nutrition monitor bio-sensor can easily be placed on the wrist or in an inanimate object, such as cutlery or a cup, to monitor a person's fat, salt sugar and water intake.
Photo courtesy of Manik Dautta, Ph.D. student in UC Irvine's Henry Samueli School of Engineering.
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