Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar’s (WCMC-Q) health campaign Sahtak Awalan: Your Health First has launched a new mobile phone app that helps users maintain a healthy diet and encourages them to exercise.

 

The app is called Your Health First: Calorie Counter and is available on Android and iOS devices

 

The app has been developed and powered by the campaign’s exclusive communications partner Vodafone Qatar in conjunction with the college, said a statement.

 

Users will be able to easily and conveniently count the number of calories they are consuming each day and will be prompted to choose healthy, nutritious foods instead of those high in saturated fats, sugar and salt. 

 

The vision is that users will use the app to help them maintain a healthy weight and make appropriate lifestyle choices. The application will be available in both Arabic and English-language versions, said the statement. 

 

The application deploys a system of traffic lights to denote how healthy or unhealthy different dietary choices are, drawing on a vast database of common foodstuffs. For example, if the user logs a meal of a burger and fries, they will be awarded a red light. If they choose a healthy salad or a dessert of fruit, they will receive a green light. Opting for too many unhealthy foods will cause the app to suggest healthy alternatives for the next meal. Even when eating within the recommended daily calorie intake, it will also notify a person as to whether they aren’t getting enough of a specific five-a-day.

 

Dr. Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCMC-Q, welcomed the launch of the new app. “With this new application WCMC-Q is embracing the opportunities offered by mobile phone technologies to deliver our message about healthy lifestyles to an ever larger audience,” he said.

 

A unique feature of the app is a completely new database of typical Arabic foods, such as thureed or machboos, which until now have never featured in popular dietary databases. 

 

John Saad, chief marketing officer at Vodafone Qatar, said: “We're proud to have created an application with the Your Health First team. Our focus was to build something simple, intuitive, and easy to understand. Users can calculate their optimum calorie intake by just sharing a few details and their personal goal. Users will be able to track their progress and even rely on it to tell them whether their choice in food is healthy or not. We’re committed to supporting WCMC-Q’s vision in order to promote a healthier Qatar and to educate people in order to make wiser decisions when it comes to their choice of food.” – TradeArabia News Service