It is common knowledge that study and extracurricular activities form an integral part of students’ lifestyle at Chiang Mai University. Food is another matter of great importance, not only in terms of taste but also the nutrition. Now, students pay a lot of attention to their health. The application KinNaiMor (‘eat on campus’) 1.0, developed by the Research Institute for Health Sciences (RIHES), Chiang Mai University, can calculate calorie intake for users and recommend healthy foods and drinks available on campus, raising the health standard for both vendors and consumers. There are 85 vendors from five cafeterias participating in the pilot project, in line with the development scheme, ‘Healthy Diet and Balanced Nutrition in the Digital Era for Healthy CMU’.
Prof Kittipan Rerkasem, MD, Deputy Director of RIHES, has explained that KinNaiMor collects nutritional data, for example, the calories and nutrients, from the menus in CMU cafeterias, then, makes recommendations for users based on their height and weight to achieve the recommended calorie and nutrient intakes. Moreover, in case of excessive consumption of sugar, fats, and sodium, the application will notify the users and help them maintain a healthy weight based on their BMI, which is calculated from the individual’s height and weight. The recommendation on what to eat in each meal helps users get the planned number of calories and also become more disciplined when it comes to eating. At present, the application is in the trial stage and is available on Android. It is expected that within three years, the data collection will be completed and the application will be able to offer full service. In the long run, RIHES aims that KinNaiMor will help CMU students and staff plan their diets to prevent health risks from excessive consumption, as well as allowing the food vendors to create healthy menus for their consumers.
