Systems and methods for user-specific modulation of nutrient intake

Abstract

This disclosure relates generally to nutritional analysis and recommendations, including systems and methods that provide personalized approaches for analyzing nutrient intake levels and for generating recommendations that are responsive to a user's current nutritional intake and the user's nutrition-related goals. The systems and methods also provide personalized analysis and recommendation for other areas or activities, including applications to exercise adherence, sleep adherence, mediation adherence, and general wellness assessment. Each of these areas or activities can be assessed alone or in combination with one or more other areas or activities.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A system for aligning a person's diet with specific dietary goals, the system comprising:
 an input port configured to receive (1) data representative of a dietary program and (2) data representative of one or more foods consumed by the person, wherein the dietary program includes a nutrition-related goal for the person;   at least one computer processor in communication with the input port and an electronic database, the electronic database being configured to store nutritional information related to a plurality of foods, the at least one computer processor configured to:
 determine, based on the dietary program, a target nutritional profile including a target level for each of a plurality of target nutrients associated with the dietary program; 
 determine, based on the nutritional information in the electronic database, a consumed amount for each of a plurality of consumed nutrients associated with the one or more foods previously consumed by the person; 
 compute a deviation for each of the target nutrients by comparing the target level of the target nutrient to the consumed amount of the respective target nutrient to obtain a plurality of deviations, wherein each deviation indicates a deficit for the respective target nutrient if the consumed amount of the target nutrient is below the target level of the target nutrient, and an excess for the respective target nutrient if the consumed amount of the target nutrient is above the target level of the target nutrient; 
 determine a nutrient coefficient for each target nutrient based on the nutrition-related goal associated with the person, wherein the nutrient coefficient for each target nutrient is indicative of an importance of the respective target nutrient to the person relative to other target nutrients; 
 compute a nutritional index that represents an aggregate alignment between the consumed amounts of the plurality of consumed nutrients and the target nutritional profile, wherein the nutritional index is based on a weighted function that applies the nutrient coefficient for each target nutrient to the respective deviation for the target nutrient, thereby indicating a degree of alignment between the person's diet and the dietary program; and 
   an output port configured to provide the nutritional index for display by a user interface device.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the at least one computer processor is further configured to determine a food recommendation and a predicted index impact for the food recommendation, the food recommendation comprising a recommended food and a specified portion size of the recommended food that if consumed by the person improves an alignment of at least one of the target nutrients and simultaneously reduces a negative impact on an alignment of at least another one of the target nutrients,   the predicted index impact for the recommended food is indicative of a predicted change in the nutritional index if the person follows the food recommendation, and   the output port is further configured to provide the predicted index impact for the food recommendation and the food recommendation for display by the user interface device.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one computer processor is configured to select as the recommended food a candidate food from a plurality of foods not previously consumed by the person. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to determine a plurality of food recommendations and a predicted index impact for each of the food recommendations, each food recommendation comprising a recommended food and a specified portion size of the recommended food that if consumed by the person improves an alignment of at least one of the target nutrients and simultaneously reduces a negative impact on an alignment of at least another one of the target nutrients, wherein the predicted index impact for each recommended food is indicative of a predicted change in the nutritional index if the person consumes the recommended food for that food recommendation; and
 the output port is further configured to provide the predicted index impact for each food recommendation and the plurality of food recommendations for display by the user interface device.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the user interface device is configured to display the plurality of food recommendations in an order determined based at least in part on the predicted index impact associated with each food recommendation. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the food recommendations comprise a plurality of recommended meals in a recommended meal plan for a plurality of days, wherein each recommended meal is associated with a recommended calendar date. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the data representative of the one or more foods comprise data representative of a plurality of consumed meals previously consumed by the person, each consumed meal comprising a specified portion for each of a plurality of foods in the consumed meal, and
 wherein the at least one computer processor is configured to generate a food recommendation by generating data indicative of a modified meal for each of the plurality of consumed meals, wherein each modified meal comprises a modified portion for at least one of the plurality of foods contained in the respective consumed meal.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to generate the food recommendation by:
 computing a candidate index impact for each of the modified meals, the candidate index impact being indicative of a quantified change in the nutritional index if the modified meal is consumed by the person; and   selecting as the food recommendation one of the modified meals based on the candidate index impact.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein each of the modified meals is associated with a meal classification selected from the group consisting of breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack, and dinner, and wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to associate the food recommendation with a recommended calendar date and a recommended meal classification identical to the meal classification of the corresponding modified meal. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein:
 each meal classification is associated with a predetermined caloric allowance, and   wherein the at least one computer processor is configured to modify the one or more specified portion sizes for each modified meal based on the caloric allowance for the classification associated with the modified meal.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one computer processor is configured to receive a selected target nutrient from the plurality of target nutrients, and in response to the receiving the selected target nutrient:
 provide to the output port data indicative of a plurality of new foods not previously consumed by the person if the deviation for the selected target nutrient indicates a deficit; and   provide to the output port data indicative of a first subset of previously consumed foods if the deviation for the selected target nutrient indicates an excess.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein each new food in the plurality of new foods not previously consumed by the person contains at least a threshold amount of the selected target nutrient, the at least one computer processor being configured to select said each new food in response to determining that said each new food, if consumed by the person, improves an alignment of the selected target nutrient and simultaneously reduces a negative impact on an alignment of at least another one of the target nutrients; and
 wherein the user interface device is configured to display the plurality of new foods in an order determined at least in part by an amount of the selected target nutrient in each new food.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to provide to the output port data indicative of a second subset of previously consumed foods if the deviation for the selected target nutrient indicates a deficit. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the nutrient coefficient for each target nutrient corresponds to a first numeric coefficient for the target nutrient if the target nutrient is in deficit, and a second numeric coefficient for the target nutrient if the target nutrient is in excess. 
     
     
         16 . A method for aligning a person's diet with specific dietary goals, the method comprising:
 receiving in a computer system in communication with an electronic database (1) data representative of a dietary program and (2) data representative of one or more foods consumed by the person, wherein the dietary program includes a nutrition-related goal for the person;   determining by the computer system based on the dietary program, a target nutritional profile including a target level for each of a plurality of target nutrients associated with the dietary program;   determining by the computer system based on the nutritional information in the electronic database, a consumed amount for each of a plurality of consumed nutrients associated with the one or more foods previously consumed by the person;   computing a deviation for each of the target nutrients by comparing the target level of the target nutrient to the consumed amount of the respective target nutrient to obtain a plurality of deviations, wherein each deviation indicates a deficit for the respective target nutrient if the consumed amount of the target nutrient is below the target level of the target nutrient, and an excess for the respective target nutrient if the consumed amount of the target nutrient is above the target level of the target nutrient;   determining a nutrient coefficient for each target nutrient based on the nutrition-related goal associated with the person, wherein the nutrient coefficient for each target nutrient is indicative of an importance of the respective target nutrient to the person relative to other target nutrients;   computing a nutritional index that represents an aggregate alignment between the consumed amounts of the plurality of consumed nutrients and the target nutritional profile, wherein the nutritional index is based on a weighted function that applies the nutrient coefficient for each target nutrient to the respective deviation for the target nutrient, thereby indicating a degree of alignment between the person's diet and the dietary program; and   providing the nutritional index for display by a user interface device.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 determining a food recommendation and a predicted index impact for the food recommendation, the food recommendation comprising a recommended food and a specified portion size of the recommended food that if consumed by the person improves an alignment of at least one of the target nutrients and simultaneously reduces a negative impact on an alignment of at least another one of the target nutrients, wherein the predicted index impact for the recommended food is indicative of a predicted change in the nutritional index if the person follows the food recommendation; and   providing the predicted index impact for the food recommendation and the food recommendation for display by the user interface device.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising selecting as the recommended food a candidate food from a plurality of foods not previously consumed by the person. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 determining a plurality of food recommendations and a predicted index impact for each of the food recommendations, each food recommendation comprising a recommended food and a specified portion size of the recommended food that if consumed by the person improves an alignment of at least one of the target nutrients and simultaneously reduces a negative impact on an alignment of at least another one of the target nutrients, wherein the predicted index impact for each recommended food is indicative of a predicted change in the nutritional index if the person consumes the recommended food for that food recommendation; and   providing the predicted index impact for each food recommendation and the plurality of food recommendations for display by the user interface device.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the user interface device is configured to display the plurality of food recommendations in an order determined based at least in part on the predicted index impact associated with each food recommendation. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the food recommendations comprise a plurality of recommended meals in a recommended meal plan for a plurality of days, wherein each recommended meal is associated with a recommended calendar date. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the data representative of the one or more foods comprise data representative of a plurality of consumed meals previously consumed by the person, each consumed meal comprising a specified portion for each of a plurality of foods in the consumed meal, and the method further comprises:
 generating a food recommendation by generating data indicative of a modified meal for each of the plurality of consumed meals, wherein each modified meal comprises a modified portion for at least one of the plurality of foods contained in the respective consumed meal.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the food recommendation is generated by:
 computing a candidate index impact for each of the modified meals, the candidate index impact being indicative of a quantified change in the nutritional index if the modified meal is consumed by the person; and   selecting as the food recommendation one of the modified meals based on the candidate index impact.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein each of the modified meals is associated with a meal classification selected from the group consisting of breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack, and dinner, and wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to associate the food recommendation with a recommended calendar date and a recommended meal classification identical to the meal classification of the corresponding modified meal. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein:
 each meal classification is associated with a predetermined caloric allowance, and   the method further comprises modifying the one or more specified portion sizes for each modified meal based on the caloric allowance for the classification associated with the modified meal.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 receiving a selected target nutrient from the plurality of target nutrients, and in response to the receiving the selected target nutrient:   providing, to the user interface device, data indicative of a plurality of new foods not previously consumed by the person if the deviation for the selected target nutrient indicates a deficit; and   providing, to the user interface, data indicative of a first subset of previously consumed foods if the deviation for the selected target nutrient indicates an excess.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein each new food in the plurality of new foods not previously consumed by the person contains at least a threshold amount of the selected target nutrient, the at least one computer processor being configured to select said each new food in response to determining that said each new food, if consumed by the person, improves an alignment of the selected target nutrient and simultaneously reduces a negative impact on an alignment of at least another one of the target nutrients; and
 the user interface is configured to display the plurality of new foods in an order determined at least in part by an amount of the selected target nutrient in each new food.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26 , further comprising providing to the output port data indicative of a second subset of previously consumed foods if the deviation for the selected target nutrient indicates a deficit. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the nutrient coefficient for each target nutrient corresponds to a first numeric coefficient for the target nutrient if the target nutrient is in deficit, and a second numeric coefficient for the target nutrient if the target nutrient is in excess.