In Texas Schools, a Picture's Worth 1,000 Calories

By: Associated Press

Posted: Wed 11:23 AM, May 11, 2011

Smile, Texas schoolchildren. You're on calorie camera.

That's the idea behind a $2 million project being unveiled Wednesday in the lunchroom of a San Antonio elementary school. Health officials say high-tech cameras in the cafeteria will begin photographing what foods children pile onto their trays - and later capture what they don't finish eating.

Digital imaging analysis of the snapshots will then calculate how many calories each student scarfed down. Officials say the technology is so advanced it will correctly identify a half-eaten pear on a tray.

Denise Jones of the Social and Health Research Center says the project is the first of its kind in the nation. It's being funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Five San Antonio schools will take part in the program.

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