This portable smart scale for nutrition is the latest in a long line of technologies that attempt to further the battle against weight and obesity. The Slate Scale by Canada-based Indiegogo is a huge leap from previous technologies, which require calories to be entered manually into apps and tend then to be both tedious and open to inaccuracies.

The Slate connects to either an iPhone or an Android phone through Bluetooth. It automatically syncs with the phone when switched on. The user then manually inputs the name of the food if the food has not yet been previously analysed by the Slate. 

When food is placed on the plate surface of the scale, it analyses the food for protein and carbohydrate content. These details are taken from the scale's central database storage and are displayed on the scale's screen. These are then transfered onto the phone. Users are essentially able to analyse any food intake by placing what they will eat on the scale.  

The more meals the user tracks on the Slate, the more the gadget is able to track eating habits and save information for regular preferences and favourites. The corresponding app tracks nutrition for the purpose of meeting goals, shows nutrients and suggests recipes.

Another way to measure and track food intake with the gadget is by scanning the food's bar code so that the nutritional information are displayed onscreen immediately.

Rana Varma of Indiegogo says: 'We want to bring the same level of accuracy to diet and nutrition that already exists for fitness tracking.

'We firmly believe that people can take back control of their health by simply monitoring their consumption.' 

The Slate Smart Scale weighs 2.2 lbs and measures 5.5 square inches. The battery lasts for a month per charge.

A similar scale that is able to analyse the nutritional details of food by weighing came out last year.  The Situ scales is a device that is designed to connect to an iPad via Bluetooth.