PICTURE OF HEALTH
‘Game-changing’ new app can calculate exactly how many calories are in your meal from a single photo
Calorie tracking is an effective way to shed the pounds and this app might have made it a whole lot easier
A NEW fitness app has entered the market - and it could help with weight loss.
The piece of tech, called Healthify, tells you exactly how many calories are in your food, all from a single picture.
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Using artificial intelligence (AI), the app recognises the food on your plate and how much there is.
It then calculates the meal's nutritional value, including calories, protein, fat, carbs and fibre.
A new version of the app, which is set to be available in the UK soon, recognises over one million different foods, its creators claim.
Users will be encouraged to take pictures of their food with the add-on, called Snap, from which the app will give a nutritional value.
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If the app recognises the food or portion size wrong, users can tweak the results.
Over time, as the app gets used more, it gets better at recognising what is being eaten based on a person's food habits, they said.
Tushar Vashisht, the company's founder and CEO based in India, told the app is around 90 per cent accurate at producing nutritional breakdowns.
But not all users are happy with the food tracking app, with some calling it "triggering".
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On X, one person wrote: "Healthify is so triggering, it gives you calories for almonds (it's seven for one almond).
"Why did sober sane me think this was a good idea".
Another said: "Healthify gave me an eating disorder... hope they get banned.";
The app has other features, like an AI personalised health coach, which offers customised advice based on people's lifestyles and goals, such as better sleep or weight loss.
The photo-snapping feature and health coach currently come free within the app, which you can download from the Apple app store.
But from January, they will only be available on the app's smart plan, which will set you back £15 per month or £12 per month if you opt for a six-month subscription.
Calorie monitoring is an effective way to shed the pounds.
Calories are the energy in food which humans need to function.
The average woman needs around 2,000 per day, while a man needs 2,500.
If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. And if you eat fewer calories, you lose weight.
It's been recommended by health professionals that to lose weight, you should eat around 500-600 calories less a day.
This would be around 1,400-1,500 for women, and 1,900-2,000 for men.
However, to lose weight, you should combine this with regular exercise.
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Having a well-balanced diet is highly important to stay healthy.
Cutting down on foods high in sugars, fat, and salt will help and ensure you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.
What is a balanced diet?
Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health, and can help you feel your best.
This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
The includes:
- at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day
- meals with high fibre starchy foods like potatoes, bread, rice or pasta
- some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks)
- some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein
- choose unsaturated oils and spreads, and eat them in small amounts
- drink plenty of fluids (at least six to eight glasses a day)
Source: NHS
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