Processes and systems for achieving and assisting in improved nutrition based on food energy data and relative healthfulness data

Abstract

Processes are provided for controlling body weight of a consumer, as well as for selecting and purchasing foods, and for producing food products, based on a combination of food energy data and relative healthfulness data for a candidate food. Various ways are provided for obtaining and accessing the food energy data and relative healthfulness data. Related processes and systems are also provided for assisting in the foregoing processes.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A process for controlling body weight of a consumer comprises, for each of a plurality of candidate food servings, receiving, by a processor, at least one of respective food serving identification data and respective food serving nutrient data;
 obtaining, by the processor, respective food energy data representing an energy content of each of the candidate food servings;   determining, by the processor, healthfulness data representing a relative healthfulness of each of the candidate food servings, based on the respective food serving identification data and the respective food serving nutrient data;   determining, by the processor, food servings for the plurality of candidate food servings based on the respective healthfulness data and the respective food energy data such that a sum of respective food energy data of the selected food servings is in a predetermined relationship to a predetermined food energy benchmark for the consumer in a given period; and   recommending, by the processor, the selected food servings.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the respective healthfulness data for at least one of the candidate food servings is based on (a) a selected respective procedure for processing nutritional data of foods in a respective food group comprising the at least one of the candidate food servings, the respective food group being one of a plurality of food groups of a respective metagroup of a plurality of metagroups, each of the metagroups comprising a plurality of food groups and having a different respective procedure for processing the nutritional data of foods in the food groups within such metagroup, and (b) selected respective comparison data for the corresponding food group, at least some of the food groups in each metagroup having different respective comparison data than the other food groups in such metagroup. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the respective healthfulness data representing a relative healthfulness of each of the candidate food servings is based on a linear combination of selected nutrient amounts present therein. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the respective food energy data representing an energy content of each of the candidate food servings is based on a human being's metabolic efficiency in utilizing first and second nutrients therein as energy. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the respective food energy data representing an energy content of each of the candidate food servings is based on an energy contribution of each of its protein content, its carbohydrate content, its dietary fiber content and its fat content. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1 , comprising obtaining meal plan data comprising data identifying candidate food servings to be ingested by the consumer over a given period based on the respective healthfulness data, the respective food energy data and the predetermined food energy benchmark, wherein the candidate food servings are ingested by the consumer in accordance with the meal plan data. 
     
     
         7 . A process for selecting and purchasing food comprises, using at least one of food identification data and food serving nutrient data of a food offered for sale, obtaining food energy data representing an energy content thereof and relative healthfulness data representing a relative healthfulness thereof;
 selecting the food offered for sale based on its food energy data and its relative healthfulness data; and   purchasing the selected food offered for sale.   
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein the relative healthfulness data of the food offered for sale is based on (a) a selected respective procedure for processing nutritional data of foods in a respective food group comprising the food offered for sale, the respective food group being one of a plurality of food groups of a respective metagroup of a plurality of metagroups, each of the metagroups comprising a plurality of food groups and having a different respective procedure for processing the nutritional data of foods in the food groups within such metagroup, and (b) selected respective comparison data for the corresponding food group, at least some of the food groups in each metagroup having different respective comparison data than the other food groups in such metagroup. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein the relative healthfulness data of the food offered for sale is based on a linear combination of selected nutrient amounts present therein. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein the food energy data representing an energy content of the food offered for sale is based on a human being's metabolic efficiency in utilizing first and second nutrients therein as energy. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein the food energy data representing an energy content of the food offered for sale is based on an energy contribution of each of its protein content, its carbohydrate content, its dietary fiber content and its fat content. 
     
     
         12 . A process for providing data to a consumer to assist in a process for controlling the consumer's weight, comprising, receiving in a data processing system data provided by a consumer for a food serving selected by the consumer including at least one of food serving identification data and food serving nutrient data; using a processor of the data processing system, obtaining food energy data and food healthfulness databased on the at least one of food serving identification data and food serving nutrient data; and
 at least one of (a) communicating the food energy data and the food healthfulness data to a device for presentation to the consumer, and (b) presenting the food energy data and the food healthfulness data to the consumer via a presentation device of the data processing system.   
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the food healthfulness data is based on (a) a selected respective procedure for processing nutritional data of foods in a respective food group comprising the food serving, the respective food group being one of a plurality of food groups of a respective metagroup of a plurality of metagroups, each of the metagroups comprising a plurality of food groups and having a different respective procedure for processing the nutritional data of foods in the food groups within such metagroup, and (b) selected respective comparison data for the corresponding food group, at least some of the food groups in each metagroup having different respective comparison data than other food groups in such metagroup. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the food healthfulness data is based on a linear combination of selected nutrient amounts present in the food serving. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the respective food energy data is based on a human being's metabolic efficiency in utilizing first and second nutrients in the food serving as energy. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the respective food energy data of the food serving is based on an energy contribution of each of its protein content, its carbohydrate content, its dietary fiber content and its fat content. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 12 , comprising receiving request data in the data processing system comprising food identification data for the food serving, using the food identification data to access data representing plurality of nutrients of the food serving and processing the received data using the processor to produce at least one of the food energy data and the food healthfulness data for the food serving. 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 12 , comprising receiving request data in the data processing system comprising food identification data for the food serving, and using the food identification data to access at least one of the food healthfulness data and the food energy data for the food serving. 
     
     
         19 . A system for providing data to a consumer to assist in a process for controlling the consumer's weight, comprising, an input operative to receive data provided by a consumer for a food serving selected by the consumer including at least one of food serving identification data and food serving nutrient data; a processor coupled with the input to receive the data provided by the consumer and configured to obtain food energy data and food healthfulness data based on the at least one of food serving identification data and food serving nutrient data; and at least one of (a) communications coupled with the processor to receive the food energy data and the food healthfulness data therefrom and to communicate the food energy data and the food healthfulness data to a device for presentation to the consumer, and (b) a presentation device coupled with the processor to receive the food energy data and the food healthfulness data and operative to present the food energy data and the food healthfulness data to the consumer. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to obtain the food healthfulness data based on (a) a selected respective procedure for processing nutritional data of foods in a respective food group comprising the food serving, the respective food group being one of a plurality of food groups of a respective metagroup of a plurality of metagroups, each of the metagroups comprising a plurality of food groups and having a different respective procedure for processing the nutritional data of foods in the food groups within such metagroup, and (b) selected respective comparison data for the corresponding food group, at least some of the food groups in each metagroup having different respective comparison data than the other food groups in such metagroup.