Nutritionists to help you count calories, just share food photo via WhatsApp

The Food Analysts (TFA), a team of nutrition experts, will be available on WhatsApp to analyse every meal that health enthusiasts eat and advice them on it. They will serve as individual coaches to help those interested in cutting down their calorie intake. The food coaching service is available at a monthly subscription. 

Stating that one will receive a response within 24 hours, a member of TFA said, “The report will tell you how much you have consumed and how far you are from your goal.” Claiming that this would serve to benefit many who think twice before ordering or cooking a certain dish, a city-based Nutritionist said, “When an individual shares his food pictures with TFA, the information he would receive would serve to help him make the right choice in terms of his calorie intake.” 

All people have to do is take a photo of the dish they are about to eat and share it with TFA. The team will then measure the calories in the meal and  provide an information bank about the right kind of food to be consumed in order to stay healthy.  

Dr Nitya PS, a nutritionist, said, “Many of my patients are constantly concerned about the amount of calorie each food item they consume contains. While this concern is important, there are many others who do not approach nutritionists for it. Keeping a check on one’s calories will help bring down the burden of diseases like diabetes and cholesterol.” 

While this combination of technology and healthcare is not new, dieticians claim that bringing together a team of nutritionists on such a platform to help the public not only maintain their calories, but thereby ensure that the burden of lifestyle diseases are under control, will be extremely useful. There have also been similar initiatives taken by groups of doctors who focus on children’s nutrition and cancer awareness – indicating the rise in the trend of healthcare via WhatsApp.