Baku, February 24 (AZERTAC). Tanita Corp developed a prototype of the "QM-300," which measures the amount of sugar contained in urine to check if the user is overeating. Sugar contained in meals (mainly carbohydrate) turns into fat in a body when it exceeds a certain amount. But if it does not exceed the amount, it does not change into fat. Leveraging this fact, the QM-300 determines if the user is overeating or not by measuring a small amount of sugar that is excreted in urine when too much sugar is taken by the user. Tanita has not yet decided the release date or the price of the product. The QM-300 can be used just by removing its cap and urinating on the sensor. A small amount of sugar contained in urine is detected by a single-chip biosensor that consists of four thin-film functional layers (tripolar) and analyzed by an algorithm developed by Tanita. The result is shown by a numerical value and an icon that changes into five shapes. To determine if the user is overeating, the QM-300 uses Tanita`s original indicator called "meal," which ranges from 0 to 1,000. Urine is examined about two hours after a meal. If the value of the meal is below a certain level, that means the user will not become obese due to sugar, the company said.

However, Tanita is still examining the threshold value, considering it necessary to conduct another research. Also, while the prototype calculates the value based on sugar, for commercialization, the company plans to measure other components of urine, too, for analysis. To increase the amount of data for verification, the QM-300 has been tested by 200 male and female people in their 30s to 60s since February 2011. The number of calories consumed is traditionally used as an indicator of overeating. Though it can be calculated by checking the energy amounts shown on food packages, it takes time to calculate them all and the energy absorption rate differs from person to person, making it difficult to create a reliable indicator. "If the QM-300 makes it easy to diagnose overeating, diet will be more successful," Tanita said.