Abstract
With an increasing number of health-related problems, consumers' needs
for food-related information are becoming more and more diverse and so new
ways to deliver the information are needed. One possibility is a hybrid of
printed and electronic media that personalises messages according to the
user's wishes. In the TIVIK project, VTT developed a technology that reads
printed barcodes by mobile phone camera. The barcodes are used to provide
product-specific information about the issues on priorities defined by the
user. The system was tested for 2-3 weeks with 75 participants interested in
weight management. For this group, reading the barcode gave the energy per
portion for that product, also as a proportion of daily energy requirement
estimated for the individual user. Users' expectations of the system were
high, implying that this kind of service is attractive. Willingness to use the
system declined during the trial but was still considerable at the end of the
period. In interview after the trial, rewarding features identified included
feedback on one's own choices and improved understanding of the role of
different products in energy intake. However, slow transfer of data and the
limited number of products in the database were mentioned as problems.
Utilising information technology to provide food-related information will open
up new ways to develop personalised and sophisticated systems for both health
services and marketing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 268 |
| Journal | Appetite |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2006 |
| MoE publication type | B1 Article in a scientific magazine |
| Event | 30th Annual Meeting of the British Feeding and Drinking Group: 2006 Food Choice Conference - Birmingham, United Kingdom Duration: 19 Apr 2006 → 21 Apr 2006 |
Keywords
- food
- TIVIK
- barcodes
- mobile phone camera
