Studies find AI diet advice may help adults, but can be unsafe for teens

In short: AI chatbots are starting to help some adults lose weight, but studies warn the same tools can give risky diet plans for teenagers.

What's going on

People are using generative AI chatbots, meaning tools that write answers like a person, to ask for meal plans and nutrition tips. Recent research suggests these tools can be helpful in some cases, especially for adults who want simple, real-time coaching.

One 2024 study from MIT Sloan followed 416 adults for three weeks. People who got personalized prompts such as “add more vegetables” lost more weight than a control group. The AI groups lost about 1.0 to 1.4 kilograms on average, and 11 more people moved out of the “obesity” category.

Other researchers tested chatbots including ChatGPT 4.0, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot on weight-loss meal plans. They found ChatGPT was usually closest to the calorie target, while Gemini’s plans varied a lot, with more than half missing the target by over 20%. Even in the better results, experts said the plans still needed work on the balance of nutrients like fats and carbohydrates.

But studies focusing on teens found bigger problems. Several analyses reported AI-created teen meal plans often underestimated calories by about 700 per day compared to dietitians. They also tended to suggest too few carbohydrates and too much fat and protein, which can matter more for teenagers because they are still growing.

What to watch

Doctors and dietitians generally say AI should be a helper, not a replacement, like a calculator that still needs someone to check the math. If you are using a chatbot for nutrition, especially for a teen or a medical condition, it is worth checking the advice with a qualified professional.

Source: NYTimes