Need help finding something healthy to eat? Just Menu It.
The Menu It smartphone app — developed by Tanner Health System’s Get Healthy, Live Well — helps users find and choose healthy food options fast. Menu It works as a personal food and nutrition assistant. It also keeps users up-to-date with the latest health news, tips, events and activities.
With the app, users will be able to check out nutritional information and Get Healthy, Live Well-approved dishes at local restaurants and national chains. They will also be able to receive personalized nutrition guidance based on chronic diseases, diet preference, food preferences, life stages and weight management. Initial participating regional restaurants include Alley Cat, Bella Coffee & Bistro, The Bistro at the Courtyard by Marriott, Chat & Choo, City Tavern, Corner Café, Gabe’s Downtown Louisiana Bistro, Lat. 33° East Deli, La Trattoria, Little Hawaiian, Max & Henry’s, Olive Tree, Plates on the Square, Samba Loca, Sutton’s American Grill, Tanner Café locations and Tropical Joe's Smoothies, with additional restaurants joining soon.
"I think this app is a wonderful tool, that will help many with diet or health issues,” said Michael Clanton, the owner of Chat & Choo.
The Menu It app was developed by Get Healthy, Live Well and FoodCare Inc., to connect users with health and nutrition resources in the community. The app is available for free for smartphones in the Apple App Store and on Google Play. The app can be downloaded by searching “Menu It.”
Mobile health is climbing in popularity, especially among smartphone owners, according to a 2012 Pew Research Center study. In 2010, 17 percent of cellphone owners reported using their phones to access health information. That figure nearly doubled in 2012 to 31 percent.
The Pew study also showed that one in five — 19 percent — of smartphone owners had a health app installed on their devices. Exercise, diet and weight apps were the most popular types downloaded.
“Digital devices like smartphones are playing a greater role in how people access information,” said Gina Brandenburg, program manager for Tanner’s Get Healthy, Live Well. “The Menu It app will give them the tools they need to get and stay healthy.”
Get Healthy, Live Well is working to promote a healthy lifestyle and prevent chronic disease for residents of Carroll, Haralson and Heard counties. The initiative is accomplishing this by decreasing health disparities, reducing obesity rates, eliminating tobacco use, increasing physical activity, improving nutrition and managing chronic disease.
Get Healthy, Live Well is led by Tanner Health System and funded in part by a Partnerships to Improve Community Health (PICH) grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Learn more about Get Healthy, Live Well at www.GetHealthyLiveWell.org.