New Smartphone App Counts Calories From Photographic Images Of Food

Japan's NTT Communications has developed a mobile phone app that uses photographs of the meal being eaten to count calories. Current phone apps for dieters require typing in food and calorie information. But NTT’s software analyzes food color and shapes and checks the information against a database to come up with the calorie counts. The database, which is accessible by smartphone, is extensive, including information on 100,000 foods; calorie counts can be adjusted according to perceived portion size. NTT says the app is still being tested, but a beta version will be made available free in January.