Developing Better Eating Methods - Mandometer

Mandometer was developed at the Section of Applied Neuroendocrinology and mandometer clinic, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

It is a portable weighing scale connected to a small computer that can generate a graph representing food removal from the plate, with weight of food (grams) on the y axis and time (minutes) on the x axis.

The user puts a measured portion of food determined by a therapist on the scale and the computer records and displays, in real time graphics, the weight loss from the plate as the use eats: time zero on the graph effectively displays total portion size.

Removing food from the plate generates a gradually developing line on a screen that can be compared and matched to a pre-set eating line displaying the speed at which the therapist wants the user to eat.

Deviation from teh training line by eating too quickly or slowly ellicits a spoken request from the Mandometer to slow down or eat faster.

At regular intervals, a rating scale appears on the screen and the user rates their level of 'fullness': from 0 (no satiety) to 100 (full satiety). That rating appears as a dot on the screen, yeilding a "development of satiety" curve and allowing comparison of the development of fullness to a "normal" fullness curve again pre-set on the screen.

During the training the user gradually adopts a more normal pattern of eating and satiety by following these training lines and curves.

NB: This blog is provided for information only and is not in any way endorsing the Mandometer product.