Version 1.0 · Updated 2 November 2026
How the Thali Score works
The Thali Score is a 0 to 100 score for your everyday eating, movement and sleep habits, from your answers about a normal week and what you ate yesterday. It only counts habits you can change, so it can go up. Every part is traced to a published guideline below, with the exact formula, so anyone can check it.
What it is not
- It is not a medical test and it doesn't diagnose anything, including PCOD, thyroid or diabetes.
- Each part follows a guideline, but the combined score is our own method. It hasn't been validated as a clinical scale yet. How we're checking it is at the bottom of this page.
- It doesn't use your weight, BMI or waist. Those appear separately in your report.
The six katoris
Each katori is scored 0 to 100. The Thali Score is their weighted average.
| Katori | How it's scored | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| VarietyFood groups you ate yesterday | The share of food groups you ate yesterday, out of the groups that fit your diet: green leafy sabzi, other sabzi or salad, fruit, pulses, milk or curd, nuts or seeds, whole grains or millets, and eggs or meat for those who eat them.Based on: ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024 (My Plate for the Day) | 25% |
| ProteinProtein in your meals | 70% from how many of your meals have protein (most, about half, a few), 30% from protein foods you had yesterday: pulses, dairy, eggs or meat, nuts or seeds. Two is full marks.Based on: ICMR-NIN 2024; protein RDA of 0.83 g/kg (NIN, 2020) | 20% |
| MeethaSugar from sweets, drinks and chai | 50% from how often you crave sweets, 25% from sugary chai or coffee a day, 25% from sweets or sugary drinks you had yesterday.Based on: ICMR-NIN 2024 limit on added sugar (25 g a day) | 15% |
| RoutineMeal timing, portions and outside food | The average of breakfast, after-dinner snacking, second helpings and outside food in a normal week, minus 10 points for each of fried snacks, packaged snacks or delivery food yesterday.Based on: Shruti's practice method, not a validated scale | 15% |
| Chal-phirActive days and strength days | 70% from active days in the past week (5 days of 30 minutes is full marks), 30% from strength days (2 is full marks).Based on: WHO Guidelines on Physical Activity, 2020 | 15% |
| NeendSleep hours | 7 hours or more is 100, 6 to 7 hours is 60, under 6 hours is 20.Based on: AASM and Sleep Research Society consensus, 2015 | 10% |
If you skip a question, that part is left out and the rest are re-weighted. The weights are a starting point set by Shruti, not derived from data, and any change is published here with a new version number.
The bands
- Kachchi 0–39Still raw, which means lots of easy wins.
- Adhpaki 40–69Half-cooked. The basics need a little more heat.
- Pakki 70–89Solid. A few tweaks away from great.
- Ghar ki Shaan 90–100The kind of thali your nani would approve of.
Shown beside the score, not inside it
Indian Diabetes Risk Score
From the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (Mohan et al., 2005), and tested in 113,043 adults across India. It estimates the chance of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. It's kept apart because age and family history can't be changed.
- Age: under 35 = 0, 35 to 49 = 20, 50 or over = 30
- Waist: women under 80 cm / men under 90 = 0; 80–89 / 90–99 = 10; 90 or more / 100 or more = 20
- Activity: very active = 0, moderate = 10, light = 20, mostly sitting = 30
- Parents with diabetes: neither = 0, one = 10, both = 20
- Under 30 low, 30 to 50 moderate, 60 or more high
Your activity answer is mapped onto the score's four activity levels. A high score means get a fasting glucose or HbA1c test; it is not a diagnosis.
Waist-to-height ratio
Your waist divided by your height. For Asian Indians, above 0.5 points to belly fat that raises health risk, and 0.6 or above is high (Misra et al., 2025). Measured on bare skin, halfway between the lowest rib and the top of the hip bone.
How we're checking it
- Stable: people who retake the check within two weeks should get nearly the same score.
- Clinically sensible: Shruti rates anonymised answers without seeing the score, and her ratings should line up with it.
- Moves with real change: clients' scores should rise over 8 to 12 weeks as their habits improve.
- Fair: vegetarian, Jain and vegan answers can reach full marks too.
Results will be published here as they come in.
Sources
- ICMR-NIN, Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024
- ICMR-NIN, My Plate for the Day (policy brief)
- NIN, Nutrient Requirements for Indians, 2020 (protein RDA)
- WHO Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour, 2020
- Watson et al., Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult (AASM/SRS), 2015
- Global Diet Quality Project, Diet Quality Questionnaire method (yesterday yes/no)
- Mohan et al., A simplified Indian Diabetes Risk Score, JAPI 2005
- Anjana et al., IDRS validation in 113,043 adults (ICMR-INDIAB), IJMR 2023
- Misra et al., Definition and classification of obesity in Asian Indians, 2025