New App Counts Calories with iPhone Camera

by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Apr 18th 2011 @ 12:00PM

Calorie counts can now be made with a flick of your iPhone. Meal Snap, by health and fitness brand DailyBurn ($2.99 on iTunes), allows users to calculate calories for any food item in the app's 500,000-item database, from an apple to a bag of chips, simply by snapping its picture. Users can then choose to log it into a food diary, to keep track of daily intake, or share findings on Twitter, if you're a lifestyle pusher.

But the counting isn't exact. A few minutes after snapping, a reading reveals a range of possible calories -- an apple could be anywhere between 64 and 96, while a container of yogurt registered between 135 and 204, notes the Daily Mail, who ran a test of their own. So nutrition sticklers, beware, these are mere estimates. The app will also estimate fat content, vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins and other breakdowns, notes chief executive at DailyBurn, Andy Smith, according to Daily Mail.

And it may do wonders for our appetite, says Smith. "The pure act of tracking something can cause a psychological change that can help people on their health and fitness journey," he tells the Mail. "Just the simple fact of logging it makes me more aware of what I'm eating." No lie. Weight Watchers members have been doing just that for decades -- without a camera.

Filed Under: New Products, Gadgets
Tags: counting calories, iphone app, Meal Snap

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-21-2011 @9:39AM Olivia Sanders said... As someone who has used almost EVERY single weight loss and diet iPhone app in the Health and Fitness Category. I can say that I was LESS THAN IMPRESSED with meal snap. Novel concept of course, but pathetic accuracy. In my opinion **THE BEST** iPhone diet app is hands down intelli-Diet! It just takes the thinking out of the equation and I just eat what it says. Down 12 pounds in a few weeks! I believe it’s 60% off now too so you should check it out before meal snap! http://bit.ly/intelli-Diet is their link.
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4-22-2011 @9:44AM William Anderson, LMHC said... I'd love to hear from anyone who has tried this. I'm the weight loss expert who developed "Therapeutic Psychogenics" and "The Anderson Method." If you have tried these iPhone calorie counters, please email me your comments at AndersonMethod@aol.com. You can see my work at www.TheAndersonMethod.com .
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5-05-2011 @12:11AM Bill said... check out smelly proof bags, great for any food you don't want to smell. "like" us here we’ve got more funny videos on the way and use us for all your smell proof needs. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Smelly-Proof-Bags/183472295009040?sk=info
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