FoodSampler

Existing tools for monitoring dietary intake are burdensome, clinically oriented, and miss the context that actually drives food behaviour: mood, social setting, time of day and cultural habits. FoodSampler combined two complementary in-situ reporting strategies into an integrated mixed food informatics approach.

The Experience Sampling Method captured short, near-real-time self-reports close to the eating moment, while the Daily Reconstruction Method used once-daily reflective reporting with memory cues. Each method fed the other, creating a reinforcing loop of in-the-moment and reflective data.

The platform was tested in real-life case studies with older adults managing overweight relapse and with overweight children and their families, producing evidence-based design guidelines for in-situ food reporting tools.