A Systematic Review of Sensor-Based Methods for Measurement of Eating Behavior

The dynamic process of eating-including chewing, biting, swallowing, food items, eating time and rate, mass, environment, and other metrics-may characterize behavioral aspects of eating. This article presents a systematic review of the use of sensor technology to measure and monitor eating behavior. The PRISMA 2020 guidelines were followed to review the full texts of 161 scientific manuscripts. The contributions of this review article are twofold: (i) A taxonomy of sensors for quantifying various aspects of eating behavior is established, classifying the types of sensors used (such as acoustic, motion, strain, distance, physiological, cameras, and others). (ii) The accuracy of measurement devices and methods is assessed. The review highlights the advantages and limitations of methods that measure and monitor different eating metrics using a combination of sensor modalities and machine learning algorithms. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of testing these methods outside of restricted laboratory conditions, and it highlights the necessity of further research to develop privacy-preserving approaches, such as filtering out non-food-related sounds or images, to ensure user confidentiality and comfort. The review concludes with a discussion of challenges and future trends in the use of sensors for monitoring eating behavior.