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Nutrition advice from chatbots: Experts urge caution despite user praise
🇸🇬 Singapore /Health & Science

Nutrition advice from chatbots: Experts urge caution despite user praise

From CNA · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Chatbots like ChatGPT are increasingly used for health and nutrition advice, with surveys showing a significant portion of adults have used them for guidance.
  • While users report positive experiences with chatbots for tasks like meal planning and tracking nutrients, experts caution against over-reliance.
  • Nutrition experts acknowledge chatbots' utility for simple tasks but warn they can sometimes provide inaccurate or misleading information, necessitating caution.

Julie Bernstein, 76, found ChatGPT's vegan meal suggestions helpful after her doctor suggested she eat meat. The chatbot quickly generated tailored menu ideas and grocery lists incorporating lentils, quinoa, and chia seeds, which she found "like a cookbook tailored for me."

Surveys indicate a growing trend in using AI for health guidance. A survey of over 5,500 US adults found one in four had used chatbots for health advice, while another survey of 1,000 US adults revealed a third had used AI tools for nutrition or weight loss plans. Many New York Times readers shared overwhelmingly positive experiences, praising the bots' speed and helpfulness.

It was like a cookbook tailored for me

— Julie BernsteinDescribing her experience using ChatGPT for vegan meal ideas.

However, nutrition experts urge caution. While acknowledging chatbots can be useful for straightforward tasks like brainstorming meal ideas, they warn that the AI can also lead people astray. Vanessa Crain, 47, used a chatbot to plan meals following a heart disease diagnosis, losing 10 pounds in two months and feeling more energetic. Dr. Lisa Oldson, an obesity medicine physician, supports AI use, counseling patients on healthy eating with chatbots and using ChatGPT to estimate meal nutrient content.

felt like a different person

— Vanessa CrainAbout her experience following a chatbot-generated meal plan.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNA in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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