Having lost three of her family members to diabetes, a 16-year-old has created a website that has a comprehensive database on nutritional value of Indian food.
The website 'thehealthybeat' promotes awareness about the importance of preventing lifestyle disorders such as diabetes amongst the worldwide Indian community.
The US-based Indian, Avni Madhani is currently studying at Saratoga High School, US and founded the website after she lost three of her close family members to diabetes. Through the website, which is available in Hindi and English, users can check their ideal weight, learn about food groups, and find their recommended calorie intake.
Users can also mirror their real life choices by adding different items onto a virtual platter to calculate the total calories and composition of a meal.
The Diabetic Association of India (DAI), the largest association in India for diabetes with 41 branches all over the country, has made TheHealthyBeat available to its members.
The health portal has been featured in the TiE Conference in Silicon Valley, USA. "I observed how general unawareness about the composition of a healthy diet and lifestyle leads to problems such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. I also realised that society does an extremely small amount to educate its citizens about decisions affecting their health, and the information available to those who seek it is often complicated and conflicting.
"Thus, theHealthyBeat is an attempt to increase societal awareness on nutrition by offering a simple guide to nutritional education, so that people can make well-informed decisions about diet," Avni said.
Indian cuisine is high in carbohydrates and fat, which can be detrimental to health unless carefully controlled and monitored.
India has 69.2 million cases of diabetes and, with one million deaths resulting from diabetes in 2015 alone, the country contributes to 20 per cent of the worldwide diabetes-related mortality rate.
