Kid-friendly food intake tracker for 8–13 year olds
P-FITS: The Pediatric Food Intake Technology System
A web and mobile tool that helps children ages 8–13 report what they usually eat so families and clinicians can spot nutrition patterns.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Viocare, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Princeton, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11173904 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project is building an easy-to-use website and phone app that lets children ages 8–13 report foods using visual prompts and short 24-hour check-ins. It combines Viocare’s VioScreen technology with mobile food-group screeners to estimate usual dietary intakes for U.S. kids. The tool will give quick, child-friendly feedback and compare intakes to national nutrition recommendations and quality measures. Developers will test and refine the system with children to make sure it is accurate, reliable, and simple to use.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Children aged 8–13 and their caregivers who can use a smartphone, tablet, or computer and are interested in tracking diet or addressing nutrition-related health concerns.
Not a fit: Children under 8, adults, or those with severe cognitive or communication impairments who cannot self-report reliably are unlikely to benefit from this self-administered tool.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the tool could help families and clinicians identify poor eating patterns early and guide prevention or management of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
How similar studies have performed: Digital dietary assessment tools exist for adults and some youth and this project builds on those methods, but fully validated, self-administered tools tailored to U.S. children are limited.
Where this research is happening
Princeton, United States
- Viocare, INC. — Princeton, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Weiss, Rick — Viocare, INC.
- Study coordinator: Weiss, Rick
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.