“Latest figures show that more than half of the UK population – 66% of men and 57% of women – are overweight or obese”. “Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.” In order to lose body fat, in combination with other healthy habits such as reducing dietary sugar and exercising regularly, calories (a shorthand term for kilocalorie) should be limited. An individual should eat no more than their Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of calories per day, 2500kcal for men and 2000kcal for women.

SensePlate is a smart IoT food scale with an integrated User Interface (UI) allowing users to track the calories and micronutrients in their diet, so that they may have a greater understanding of their diet and habits. The user interacts with the scale by placing an item on the weighing plate and choosing a foodstuff from the item menu. On the press of an “ok” button, the database will be updated with relevant data relating to their input. This database is shown interactively in a browser, where the user can track their caloric intake over time, providing them with greater awareness of how much they are consuming in reference to the RDA.