New app can tell you exactly how many calories are in your food – just by looking at it

There are an endless number of apps that claim to help you lose weight.

But now someone claims they can tell you exactly how many calories your food contains just by taking a photo of what you're eating.

Healthify asks you to take a photo of your meals.

Using artificial intelligence (AI), it can recognize food on your plate, as well as how much you have, to generate a nutritional analysis.

They can then adjust the results if the app is incorrect on a food or portion size

A new version of the app, rolling out in the UK in the coming days, will include a feature called Snap 2.0.

Users take a photo of their meal and the app identifies the different foods on a plate.

They can then adjust the results if the app is incorrect on a food or portion size.

The number of calories, proteins, fats, carbohydrates and fibers are then calculated.

Over time, the app gets better at recognizing what is being eaten based on a person's eating habits.

The number of calories, proteins, fats, carbohydrates and fibers are then calculated

Tushar Vashisht, the founder and CEO of the company, based in India, told MailOnline: 'It can recognize more than a million foods from a single shot and outperforms ChatGPT in food recognition.'

The famous AI chatbot only detects that a meal is, for example, a salad, while Healthify detects the exact type, he said.

Mr Vashisht said he believes the app is about 90 percent accurate, based on customer feedback.

The app comes with other features including an AI health coach. It gives users nutritional and exercise advice based on their goals, such as weight loss, stress reduction or better sleep.

Although these features are currently free, from January they will only be available as part of the app's smart plan, which costs £15 per month, or £12 per month if you buy a six-month subscription.

Mr Vashisht said some users claim to have lost 23 kg by using the app.

Other weight loss apps can provide a detailed breakdown of the nutritional content of the meals a person eats, but often require users to enter each item and the portion size they consumed to provide accurate information.

Calorie monitoring is vital for many to lose weight.

The average woman needs about 2,000 calories per day to maintain a healthy weight, compared to 2,500.

But over time, if a person consumes more than he burns, he will gain weight.

Therefore, maintaining calorie intake is essential for weight loss. To lose weight, the NHS advises women to reduce their calories to 1,400, while men should stick to 1,900.

The health department notes that dieters should still eat five portions of fruits and vegetables per day and two portions of fish per week.

WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?

• Eat at least 5 portions of varied fruit and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruits and vegetables count;
• Basic meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, preferably whole wheat;
• 30 grams of fiber per day: This is the same as eating all of the following: 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, 2 whole wheat cereal biscuits, 2 thick slices of whole wheat bread and large baked potato with skin;
• Provide some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soy drinks) and choose lower fat and lower sugar options;
• Eat some beans, legumes, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 servings of fish per week, one of which should be oily);
• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consume in small quantities;
• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water per day;
• Adults should have less than 6 grams of salt and 20 grams of saturated fat for women and 30 grams for men per day.

Source: NHS Eatwell guide