HUMANS will one day be fitted with “skin-embedded sensory devices” to calculate their optimum diet, it has been claimed. Dr Morgaine Gaye, a food futurologist, believes high-tech monitors will be programmed to consider our genetic background and any pre-existing medical conditions. Personalised diets They will then track our breath and biometrics to the exact micronutrients […]
HUMANS will one day be fitted with “skin-embedded sensory devices” to calculate their optimum diet, it has been claimed.
Dr Morgaine Gaye, a food futurologist, believes high-tech monitors will be programmed to consider our genetic background and any pre-existing medical conditions.
They will then track our breath and biometrics to the exact micronutrients and vitamins we individually need each day.
With health becoming increasingly personal and as we look 15-20 years into the future, meals will be tailored for particular health benefits and nutritional needs.
The increased focus on personalised health will bring an end to the ‘one-size-fits-all’ diet culture – everything we consume will be nutritionally tailored and meals packed with the relevant minerals, vitamins and even bacteria, Dr Gaye claims.
She said: “In the future, with each person having their own personal DNA and microbiome tested, individual dietary requirements will be extremely specific and nuanced and it will become increasingly important that food is tailored to this.”
In the report, commissioned by recipe box company Gousto, Dr Gaye also predicts the future of dinnertime will see the death of the TV dinner and an increased value placed on mealtime togetherness and shared cooking experiences.
She said: “The future is about collective humanity.
“Kindness will be our main mode of behaviour. Dinner will be a collaboration as we share chores and skill-swap.
“Dinnertime will be a kind of simple, social occurrence, as friends, colleagues, acquaintances gather to share and eat.”
To accompany the report, a study of 2,000 Brits looking into current dinner time habits found more than a quarter (27 per cent) regularly repeat meals just because they know that they are healthy – with 24 per cent citing health as the main reason for choosing a meal.
This beats ease (21 per cent), affordability (22 per cent) and trying new dishes (three per cent).
More than half (58 per cent) of Brits surveyed via OnePoll also believe that looking into the future, food will still be prepared at home using fresh, purchased ingredients rather than prepared for you by a retailer (nine per cent) or robot (four per cent).
However, more than one third (35 per cent) of Brits admit that they currently enjoy their evening meal on the sofa – while the same amount (35 per cent) also reveal that they think they’ll still eat their dinner in front of the TV in the future.
In addition, sadly only 15 per cent of those surveyed consistently enjoy screen free dinner times throughout the week.
Dr Morgaine Gaye added: “The future of dinnertime is both very simple and also more futuristic.
“It will involve more opportunity for sharing preparation, eating together and more of an attitude of mindfulness.
“But it will also employ advanced technology, self-monitoring health devices and completely integrated ordering interfaces.
“Technology and humanity will co-exist in a more assimilated way and the meals we eat will become more wholesome and will act as cherished moments of meaning.”
Gousto has piloted a range of new recipes, tailored to specific health benefits.
Tested and reviewed by 243 customers and the result of a year-long development process, its new Health Kitchen range will launch in January 2020 and offers a range of recipes that support specific health benefits; Immunity, Mood, Energy.
Ellie Bain, Gousto’s in-house registered dietician, added: “We understand that health is becoming increasingly personal.
“The ‘one size fits all’ approach to diet seems to be becoming a thing of the past, paired with a growing understanding that the food we eat directly impacts the way that we feel.
“There will be incredible technological advancements in this space over the next 15-20 years and as a food tech business we want to make sure that we are at the forefront of these changing behaviours.
“Our new Health Kitchen range is the first step on the journey of increasingly personalised health benefits and dietary preferences – we are making it simple for our customers to choose the recipes they want to create at home, based on the health benefits that they are looking for.”
