Smartwatch tracking of eating and calories
Official title: Validating Sensor-based Approaches for Monitoring Eating Behavior and Energy Intake by Accounting for Real-World Factors that Impact Accuracy and Acceptability
Funded at Clemson University · NIH-11290303 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses a smartwatch to passively count bites and sips and estimate calories for adults with or at risk for type 2 diabetes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Clemson University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Clemson, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2023 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $518,722 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK135679-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11290303 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are adults (21+) with type 2 diabetes or overweight/obesity who can wear a wristwatch/smartwatch during meals.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not wear wrist devices, have limited dominant-hand movement, or need immediate medical treatment are unlikely to benefit from participation.
What this research studies
You'll wear a smartwatch that records wrist motion while you eat and drink. The device's software looks for bite and drink gestures and multiplies those counts by estimated calories per bite or drink to estimate total energy intake. Researchers will compare those estimates to measured intake in everyday life and refine the algorithms to handle different foods, utensils, and real-world behaviors. The goal is to make calorie tracking accurate, comfortable, and usable for daily diabetes and weight management.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could give patients an easy, low-effort way to track calorie intake and eating patterns to support weight and diabetes care.
How similar studies have gone: Previous pilot studies from the same group have shown the smartwatch can count bites and estimate calories in controlled settings, but broader real-world validation is still needed.
Where this research is happening
-
Clemson University
Clemson, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hoover, Adam — Clemson University
- Study coordinator: Hoover, Adam
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.