Some elementary schools in San Antonio, Texas are installing videocameras in their cafeterias to track what the young people are eating. Funded by a US Department of Agriculture grant, the project is meant to collect data that could be used to fight childhood obesity. According to the San Antonio-based Social and Health Research Center, the hope is that the information will lead to better menus at home and at school. Seems like one way to reduce the intake of crap food at elementary school cafeterias (and at home) would be to not serve crap food. From Reuters:
Officials will receive information on the nutrient and calorie counts of the food children have actually consumed.
The technology will identify the food, capture the nutrient levels and measure the food that children eat, according to Dr. Roger Echon of the center, who designed the program.
Echon on Wednesday showed reporters a printout of the reading from one student's tray at W.W. White Elementary School. It listed the size of the serving, and its calorie, fiber, sugar, and protein count.
He said the program can break down the data into total monounsaturated fatty acids, soluble dietary fiber, and more than 100 other specific measures.
"Cameras in U.S. schools to record calorie counts"
