The advent of the World Wide Web called upon professionals to apply informatics into Nutrition Information. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics began their work and the first discussion was out in 2006. Nutrition Informatics involves an effective retrieval, organization, storage, and optimum use of information, data, and knowledge for food and nutrition-related problem-solving and decision-making. A Delphi study was conducted to determine the competencies necessary for the practice of Nutrition Informatics. The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) in 2016 included informatics as an essential practice competency in continuing education for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists.

FHTS is contributing to growing field of Nutrition Informatics in following ways:

  1. Design and Evaluation of a Personalized Human Centred Dietary Decision Support System among Diabetic patients, a study funded by ICMR
  2. Swasthya Pahal, a digital intervention for screening and management of Non-Communicable diseases: 14000+ beneficiaries have been screened since 2012 across 8 states of India. The intervention was awarded with Digital Commonwealth Award in 2018
  3. SHINE Initiative is an SMS based Nutrition and Lifestyle counselling program for self management of chronic Non-Communicable diseases catering 3000+ beneficiaries.
  4. FHTS has trained 90+ interns under Nutrition Informatics with experiential learning opportunities
  5. Certificate in Health and Nutrition Informatics to prepare a cadre of trained workforce in the field of NI. The program started in January 2022 with a cohort of 7 students and till date 14 students have successfully completed the course with not only introducing them to the field but with key research skills enhancement.
  6. Nutrition Informatics platform (www.nutritioninformatics.info) developed by Dr. Ashish Joshi provides updates on the recent happenings in the field of Nutrition Informatics with regular trending topics highlighting NI, key resources on Nutrition Programs and Policies. The platform offers membership with access to key resources related to the field
  7. Publication by FHTS under NI: Joshi, A., Gaba, A., Thakur, S., & Grover, A. (2021). Need and Importance of Nutrition Informatics in India: A Perspective. Nutrients, 13(6), 1836

FHTS Contribution: SHINE (SMAART Hub for Informatics enabled Nutrition Education)