Validation of innovative technology to measure the energy intake of free-living h

描述（由申请人提供）：肥胖症的患病率在全球范围内不断增加，并且有一个强烈的共识，即体重增加和肥胖是正能量平衡的结果，当摄入的能量多于消耗的能量时，就会发生这种情况。能量摄入（食物摄入）是体重增加的主要原因之一，但很少有准确的方法来测量人们在自然环境或自由生活条件下的食物摄入量。因此，科学家很难研究食物摄入，能量平衡，体重增加和肥胖。此外，对于希望控制体重的人来说，学习如何改变能量平衡是困难的，因为他们管理能量平衡的能力受到关于能量摄入的不准确信息的阻碍。食物记录或食物日记经常被用来测量能量摄入，但它们被发现是不准确的。当完成食物记录时，人们在纸笔表格上记录他们吃的食物的类型和数量。测量能量摄入的“黄金标准”依赖于双标记水方法，但这种方法成本高昂，大多数研究人员和临床医生都无法使用。双标记水方法也不提供有关所吃食物类型和饮食中常量营养素组成的信息。因此，这种方法提供的关于饮食营养充足性的信息很少。食物的数字摄影，一种被发现可以在自然环境中准确测量能量摄入的方法（例如，在改善自由生活个体的食物摄入量估计方面也有希望。当使用这种方法时，在用餐前用数码相机拍摄个人选择的食物的盘子，并在用餐后拍摄盘子废物。已知量的食物的参考或标准部分也被拍照。在实验室中，经过培训的法官（注册营养师）通过将这些照片与标准部分的照片进行比较，使用这些照片来估计食物选择和盘子浪费的部分大小。这些估计值被输入到计算食物摄入量的计算机应用程序中（食物摄入量=食物选择减去盘子浪费）。一系列试点研究发现，这种方法可以改变，并用于自由生活条件。这项研究的目的是开发和测试创新技术，将acilitate收集准确的能量摄入数据在自由生活的人唱的数字摄影方法。参与者将用手机拍摄他们选择的食物和盘子废物，这些数据将通过手机网络实时传输到研究人员的数据库中。“一个半自动化的计算机应用程序将被开发出来，以自动识别这些图片中的食物，并根据图片估计食物的摄入量。在拟议的项目期间，将开发这一计算机应用程序，并将在实验室和自由生活条件下测试估算良好摄入量方法的可靠性和有效性（准确性）。这项研究有望显着推进能量平衡的研究，并提供了一个有用的工具，临床医生测量能量摄入。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide and there is a strong consensus that weight gain and obesity are the consequence of a positive energy balance, which occurs when more energy is ingested than expended. Energy intake (food intake) is one of the primary culprits of weight gain, yet few accurate methods exist to measure food intake in people's natural environment or free-living conditions. Consequently, it is difficult for scientists to study food intake, energy balance, weight gain, and obesity. Additionally, it is difficult for people who wish to manage their weight to learn how to modify energy balance, since their ability to manage energy balance is hindered by inaccurate information about energy intake. Food records or food diaries are frequently used to measure energy intake, but they have been found to be inaccurate. When completing a food record, people record the types and amounts of the foods that they eat on pen-and-paper forms. The "gold standard" for measuring energy intake relies on the doubly labeled water method, but this method is costly and not available to most researchers and clinicians. The doubly labeled water method also does not provide information about the types of foods being eaten and the macronutrient composition of the diet. Therefore, this method provides little information about the nutritional adequacy of the diet. Digital photography of foods, a method that has been found to accurately measure energy intake in naturalistic settings (e.g., cafeterias), might also have promise in improving estimates of food intake in free-living individuals. When using this method, the plate of foods selected by an individual is photographed with a digital camera before the meal and plate waste is photographed after the meal. Reference or standard portions of known quantities of the foods are also photographed. In the laboratory, trained judges (registered dietitians) use these photographs to estimate the portion size of food selection and plate waste by comparing these photographs to the photograph of a standard portion. These estimates are entered into a computer application that calculates food intake (food intake = food selection minus plate waste). A series of pilot studies has found that this method can be altered and used in free-living conditions. The purpose of this study is to develop and test innovative technology that will acilitate the collection of accurate energy intake data in free-living humans sing the digital photography method. Participants will take photographs of their food selection and plate waste sing cell phones and these data will be transferred to the researchers' database over the cellular network in ear "real-time." A semi-automated computer application will be developed to automatically identify the foods in these pictures and estimate the amount of food eaten based on he pictures. During the proposed project, this computer application will be developed and the reliability and validity (accuracy) of the method for estimating good intake will be tested in laboratory and free-living conditions. This research promises to significantly advance the study of energy balance and provide a useful tool to clinicians for measuring energy intake.