Urine test to show diet

A simple urine test can reveal whether you had steamed fish or a fat-riddled steak for dinner, and could one day end dietary dishonesty, according to a study. The test may also boost the health of people suffering from diabetes, obesity or heart disease.

Monitoring calories is notoriously difficult outside a clinical setting because people are often reluctant to admit what they have — or have not — eaten.

Still under development, the five-minute lab test identifies biological markers in urine that are specific to different food groups, researchers reported in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.

For now, the pee probe can distinguish between red meat, fish and chicken, and provides a good indication of fat, sugar, fibre and protein intake as well.

“We’re not at the stage yet where the test can tell us a person ate 15 chips yesterday and two sausages,” said co-author John Mathers, a professor at the Human Nutrition Research Centre at Newcastle University in England. “But it’s on its way.”

In trials, some 60% of people under-report their intake of foods they know to be unhealthy, and over-report consumption of fruit and vegetables, research has shown.

“A major weakness in all nutrition and diet studies is that we have no true measure of what people eat,” said senior author Gary Frost, a professor at the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London.

Fibbing about food not only bedevils scientists studying nutrition, but also doctors treating diseases aggravated by poor diet.