Fooya! India’s gamified answer to childhood obesity

November 12, 2025 Innovation Valli Sarvani

In an era where screens often fuel unhealthy habits, Chennai-based innovator Bhargav Sri Prakash has flipped the script.

His creation, Fooya!, is a pediatric dietary mobile game designed to help children make healthier food choices using the power of neuroscience and play.

Developed by FriendsLearn, the app transforms nutrition education into an interactive, gamified experience.

Instead of lecturing kids about food, it lets them learn through action in a vibrant digital world.

Children control an avatar who fights off “junk food robots,” earning rewards for healthy choices and energy for movement.

The design is simple yet profound: eat right, move better; eat junk, slow down.

Bhargav says his inspiration came from a deeply personal space: parenthood.

He explained that, as a parent, he had observed how advertising shaped his children’s eating habits and felt motivated to bring about change through engaging methods rather than direct instruction.

His journey, which began 11 years ago, has now led to the creation of Fooya!, a unique blend of fun, neuroscience, and behavioural science.

Backed by research collaborations with Johns Hopkins University, the game has undergone clinical trials involving 104 children aged between 10 and 11.

Published in the journal JMIR mHealth and uHealth, the findings show that just 20 minutes of gameplay can significantly improve children’s food choices and health awareness.

Fooya!’s innovative strength lies in its neurocognitive design. The app subtly trains the brain to associate healthy foods with energy and positivity, while framing processed foods as obstacles.

This implicit learning model bypasses traditional education methods, making health literacy both intuitive and enjoyable.

Bhargav believes the future of preventive healthcare lies in such digital behavioural vaccines, experiences that stimulate healthy decision-making through technology rather than medicine.

With its blend of science, storytelling, and social impact, Fooya! reimagines how the next generation can battle obesity, not in clinics, but in the colourful world of gameplay.

Image Credit: Fooya Website Screenshot