O Sentai & UKM Co-Create Portion Masters Board Game to Promote Awareness of Food Portions and Balanced Eating

Kuala Lumpur, October 6 - In line with its commitment to food education and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), O Sentai has launched its latest educational board game, Portion Masters , which is based on Malaysia's national dietary guidelines.

Developed in collaboration with the Dietetics Program at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Portion Masters is designed to help people understand the concept of balanced nutrition in a fun and engaging way. Senior lecturer and co-creator Dr. You Yee Xing hopes this gamified approach will make nutritional information easier for both university students and the public to grasp.

He explained that training to become a professional dietitian and nutritionist often requires memorising countless food portion sizes, a process that can be dry and boring. This challenge is even greater when trying to educate the public, whose attention span is limited. However, presenting these principles through a game format makes learning about balanced eating more engaging and widely accepted. This inspired Dr. You to collaborate with O Sentai to develop a board game that effectively communicates the concept of balanced nutrition while teaching players about correct food portion sizes.

Dr. You Yee Xing introduces Portion Masters board game to Deputy Vice-Chancellor of UKM Prof. Dr. Jamia Azdina Jamal, Director of Centre for Innovation & Technology Prof. Dr. Sawal Hamid Md Ali and Dean of Faculty of Health Science Prof. Dr. Suzana Shahar.

Leveraging O Sentai's previous experience in developing educational board games such as Winner Of Delicacies and 3D Food Pyramid, Portion Masters was finally brought to life after carefully considering its educational value, entertainment appeal, and suitability for a wide range of age groups during the design process.

The game components and setup of Portion Masters.

According to the 2024 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) in Malaysia, which found that one in three adolescents and one in two adults are overweight or obese. The latest Malaysian Dietary Guidelines (MDG 2020) recommend at least three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits daily. Yet, only 5% of adolescents and 12% of adults meet the vegetable target, while just 13% of adolescents and 17% of adults meet the fruit recommendation. These figures clearly show that Malaysians are still far from achieving balanced nutrition. 

Portion Masters directly addresses this challenge. Players first determine their daily caloric needs based on their activity levels. It then guides them to identify the specific portion sizes required from each food group to meet that target. This approach encourages players to actively think about meal balance and visualise proper portions.

Ultimately, Portion Masters is more than just a board game -  it's a tool for raising awareness about balanced nutrition. It’s strategy-based gameplay keeps players engaged while reinforcing key nutritional concepts. So get your hands on Portion Masters today and experience how fun it is!

Group photo of Dr. You Yee Xing (first left) with O Sentai’s founder, CY Foo (middle) and the team.