Fuzzy multi-constraint programming model for weekly meals scheduling

Software tools applying computational intelligence techniques have a role in the globally growing problem of Nutrition Related Diseases. Following a nutritionally balanced diet is a complex routine decision making task that involves setting a weekly meal schedule conforming to multiple constraints of budget, cooking skill, variety, time available for cooking, and organisation of freshly prepared or pre-prepared meals. The author has proposed a Fuzzy Multi-Constraint Satisfaction (FMCS) scheduling model for the Meal Scheduling Problem (MSP) to automate the scheduling task accommodating the imprecision and vagueness in the target values of the user's preferences and enabling necessary flexibility suitable for a busy life style. The applicability of this model is demonstrated by scheduling twenty-one meal time slots for the three main meals of the day for seven days of a week from a list of ninety menu items. The proposed solution has achieved a satisfaction score of ninety eight percent. © 2019 IEEE.