Abstract:
A diet management system and method thereof is disclosed, which aids in the facilitation of a diet and fitness feedback and tracking. In particular, a communication module, text-to-speech converter, VOX, and server are used in the diet management system. Several communication devices are employed that allows the dieter a broad choice of communicating dietary information. Moreover, the processing and storing of dietary reports are maintained by a network server.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Inventions 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to diet and fitness aids and specifically systems and methods for providing real-time feedback to a dieter. 
         [0003]    2. Background Information 
         [0004]    With the large number of diets and diet products on the market, the dieting market has become a multi-billion dollar industry. With the desire by many to lose weight and get in better shape, dieters seek any advantage to improve their success rate, which has included getting encouragement from family members, loved ones, and support groups. Though encouragement may seem insignificant, a moment of weakness in discipline can spoil a dieter&#39;s hard work. 
         [0005]    Many diet and fitness programs track and record certain data related to the type and quantity of food being consumed by the dieter. This data typically comprises the type and amount of food being consumed with each meal. From this, the amount of calories, carbohydrates, fats, etc., can be determined, e.g., on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. This data can be used to give feedback to the dieter as to his progress, however, it is often difficult for a dieter to keep track of their food intake and to calculate the amount of calories, carbohydrates, fat, etc., consumed. For example, a dieter may be called to an impromptu dinner with a business client. In such a circumstance, it may be inconvenient or awkward for the dieter to record his food intake and calculate his food statistics. Furthermore, it may be especially difficult to keep track of in-between meals and snacks. 
         [0006]    In addition to tracking eating habits, data and statistics related to the dieter&#39;s food consumption can be used to make adjustments to the dieter&#39;s diet and/or exercise regime. For example, if in a particular week, the dieter&#39;s intake of calories or carbohydrates exceeds the dieter&#39;s allotted amount, the dieter&#39;s exercise regime can be increased to compensate for the surplus. If the types of food the dieter is consuming result in an excess of calories, alternative foods can be suggested to meet the calorie requirements of the dieter. 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a feedback management system that tracks and records a dieter&#39;s eating habits and uses this information to calculate and feedback food intake back to the dieter. In one aspect of the invention, a diet management system for providing feedback to a dieter comprises a communication module configured to receive dietary information from a dieter; a server configured to store the dietary information and provide dietary reports in response to a dieters request. 
         [0008]    In one embodiment, a diet management method for providing feedback to a dieter comprising the steps of receiving dietary information from the dieter and communicating the dietary information to a server; storing the dietary information and processing dietary reports in response to a dieter&#39;s request by the server. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    For a better understanding of the nature of the features of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a diet management system in accordance with one embodiment, and 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating an example method for tracking dietary data and providing feedback to the dieter using the fitness management system of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]      FIG. 1  depicts a diet management system  120 , in accordance with one embodiment of the systems and methods described herein, for managing a fitness regime. Dieter  102  can interact with system  120  to provide dietary information to system  120 . For example, he can call in using telephone  112 , which can be either a standard land line or a cellular phone; he can send a short message system (SMS) message or a text message using wireless device  114 ; or he can send an email message using any sort of email appliance  116  including a personal computer or a wireless email device, such as a Blackberry. In general, any device or communication method can be used to provide dietary information to system  100 . But as explained below, it can be preferable to use a voice communication device, such as a telephone or cellular phone. 
         [0013]    In one embodiment, dieter  102  calls system  120  and informs the system of what dieter  102  has or is about to eat. For example, dieter  102  can call system  120  using a telephone or cellular phone and simply tell system  120  what dieter  102  had for breakfast. System  120  can process this information to determine dietary relevant data, such as the amount of calories consumed at breakfast. System  120  can then be configured to provide feedback to dieter  102 , e.g., via one of the communication methods described above. For example, system  120  can be configured to provide dieter  102  with voice feedback. In other words, once dieter  102  informs system  120  of what he ate for breakfast, a voice generated by system  120  can tell dieter  102  how many calories he has consumed, how many calories he has left for the day, whether he has consumed too many carbohydrates, etc. In this manner, dieter  102  can get instantaneous feedback on his diet and eating habits. Thus, dieter  102  can constantly maintain awareness of dietary needs, restrictions, and limitations without the overhead normally associated with conventional diets, e.g., measuring, calculating, etc. 
         [0014]    In order to interpret dieter  102 &#39;s vocal response, system  120  can comprise a voice conversion system  124  adapted to convert the dieter&#39;s voice information into data that can be processed by a voice processing server  130 . Voice conversion system  124  can also comprise a interactive voice response (IVR) module  126  and/or a voice recognition (VR) module  128  in order to communicate with dieter  102 . If dieter  102  elects to report his food intake or to receive feedback through a text message or an email message, voice conversion system  124  may be bypassed as required. 
         [0015]    Messages to dieter  102  can be converted to speech through a text-to-speech (TTS) module  132 . The synthetic speech generated by TTS module  132  can be morphed into voice using a voice morphing module  134 . With the speech converted, dieter  102  can receive the message on, e.g., telephone  112 . If the response is an immediate response to information provided by dieter  102 , the response can be given during the same telephone call that dieter  102  initiated; however, in some circumstances, system  130  can be configured to place a call to dieter  102  and deliver a voice message at a later time. 
         [0016]    Server  130  can also be configured to record the processed, dietary data. This stored data can then be used to track the dieter&#39;s food intake and check it against certain dietary requirements, which can also be stored on server  130 , or within system  120 . System  120  can also store, or have access to, fitness information such as a fitness routine or schedule. For example, system  120  can be configured to perform queries to external fitness resources  142  through network  140 , which can be a public computer network, private network or virtual private network, or can gather information from its own internal databases and knowledge bases. Based either on its own internal information or information provided by external fitness resources  142  an appropriate course of action can be determined. 
         [0017]    In addition, server  130  can comprise a web server which enables dieter  102  to configure his dietary and/or fitness program, review his progress, and receive progress reports through computer  152 , which can be connected to system  120  through a computer network  150  such as the Internet. 
         [0018]    In order to integrate exercise data with the dietary data stored on system  120 , exercise appliance  118  can be coupled to system  120  through a computer network. Exercise appliance  118  can include a wireless heart monitor or a piece of home gym equipment, e.g., that is Internet compatible. In another embodiment, exercise appliance  118  can be coupled to a gym network configured to monitor the progress of ones training regime. Many gyms are equipped with systems which monitor the duration and types of exercise for cardiovascular exercises and weights and repetition of weight training exercises. In addition, a heart rate monitor is often built into the exercise equipment and can be coupled to the network. This data can be transferred from the gym to system  120  either formatted by the gym&#39;s system or in raw form from the individual equipment. 
         [0019]    Thus, dieter  102  can call in or message in to system  120 . System  120  can then ask the dieter what they are eating. Upon the dieter&#39;s response, system  120  can calculate and report various facts about the food being consumed including the calorie count, fat count, protein count and carbohydrate count. System  120  can also calculate and report whether dieter  102  is over or under his daily limit and if the choice of food is particularly unhealthy, system  120  can suggest an alternative. All this information can be further packaged so that dieter  102  can view the results later on a web page. As mentioned, in immediate response to dieter  102 &#39;s food intake report, system  120  can synthesize a response using the voice response of dieter  102 &#39;s choice. 
         [0020]    In one embodiment of system  120 , external fitness resources  142  can include online fitness or dietary resources such as ediets or weightwatchers. In such instances, the voice synthesized by voice morphing module  134  can be the voice of the spokesperson of that external fitness resource. This can be used to reinforce the branding of the particular external fitness resource. 
         [0021]    In another embodiment of system  120 , the voice synthesized by voice morphing module can be configured to report in a foreign language. For example, the voice morphing module can be used to report to dieter  102  results in his native language. Moreover, dieter  102  can, depending on the embodiment, be allowed to select a voice for the reports. For example, dieter  102  can select a famous voice to provide feedback. The famous voice can be translated into any language using voice morphing module  134 . Appropriate use of the voice morphing module  134  can accommodate the desires of a wide variety of languages with a wide selection of voices. The voice selected and synthesized by voice morphing module  134  can also be that of a friend or family member of dieter  102 . In such embodiments, voice morphing module  134  can be trained based on voice samples received from the selected individual. With a familiar voice, dieter  102  can be given encouragement in maintaining dietary discipline and be dissuaded from taking up bad habits. 
         [0022]    In another embodiment of system  120 , server  130  or external fitness resource  142  can track dieter  102 &#39;s eating habits. During the danger periods, that is, periods where dieter  102  is likely to snack or eat improperly, system  120  can be configured to call dieter  102  and present a message to discourage the improper eating. 
         [0023]    It should be noted that though  FIG. 1  illustrates a system with a variety of modules and functions, embodiments of the system can comprise a subset of the components shown in  FIG. 1  and/or a subset of the functionality described above. Furthermore, though components are depicted as separate, many of the modules can be implemented within server  130 . Also, the internal databases and knowledge bases can reside within system  120  or reside outside system  120 . Therefore, system  120  should not be limited to that architecture shown in  FIG. 1  as variations and combinations are obvious to one skilled in the art. 
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart showing exemplary operation of system  120  in implementing a basic function of system  120 . At step  202 , system  120  waits for a phone call from dieter  102 . When a call is received, system  120  greets dieter  102  at step  204  and prompts dieter  102  for what he is currently eating or for what his is about to eat. At step  206  system  120  receives a voice response from dieter  102 . At step  208 , a determination is made as to whether any more information is required from dieter  102 . This can be based on the context of the information already received such as “I had a ham sandwich, cole slaw AND a pickle for lunch.” In this context, the “and” can indicate all information desired has been reported by dieter  102 . Alternatively, step  204  can include a “Is that everything?” prompt and step  206  can comprise an appropriate an affirmative or negative response. In another embodiment, an IVR system is used and dieter  102  can indicate when he is finished by pressing a key on his telephone. 
         [0025]    At step  210 , the dieter&#39;s response can be recognized with VR response module  128 . At step  212 , the converted data can be parsed and interpreted. In the example given above, “ham sandwich,” “cole slaw” and “pickle” are extracted from dieter  102 &#39;s response. At step  214 , the relevant data is retrieved from either an external fitness resource or from the internal database, which can include, e.g., calorie, carbohydrate, fat and protein statistics about the foods. In addition, dieter  102 &#39;s profile can be retrieved so information about earlier meals in the day and the type of program dieter  102  is participating in can be factored into a response. At step  216 , server  130  determines the appropriate response, for example, it can be a recitation of statistics of the food, dieter progress or a full report. It can also include admonishment for eating poorly or words of encouragement. This response is converted to speech at step  218  using TTS module  132 . At step  220 , the desired voice and language is selected, which can be retrieved from dieter  102 &#39;s profile. At step  222 , VOX module  134  morphs the speech response from step  218  into the desired language and voice. The resultant response is then played for the caller at step  224 . At step  226 , the call is ended and system  120  returns to the wait step at step  202 . 
         [0026]    While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described above, it will be understood that the embodiments described are by way of example only. Accordingly, the inventions should not be limited based on the described embodiments.