7-Eleven Japan Tests Palm Scanner to Check If You Are Eating Veggies

Radar speed scanners slow down drivers by showing them how fast they are going. The awareness creates the behavior change. Could the same idea shift how we eat?

In Japan, 7-Eleven is testing a Vege-Check palm scanner that "uses reflection spectroscopy to measure carotenoid levels in a person's skin." These are the biomarkers that can estimate the amount of fruits and vegetables someone has eaten. In 30 seconds, a palm scanner reads customer's palms and tells them their "vegetable intake level" on a scale of 1 to 12.

Imagine this being used in schools to encourage kids to make healthier eating choices. Perhaps it could be gamified or connected into existing games like NBA 2k and Fitbit did several years ago. If these veggie scores were part of a game or reward system, it might have a chance to achieve the impossible: get kids to make healthier eating choices on their own.