WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A recent study has raised concerns about the nutritional advice provided by popular artificial intelligence chatbots, finding that several widely used AI models recommended critically low-calorie diets for teenagers.
The study was conducted by a team of scientists led by Ayse Betül Bilen, an Associate Professor of Medical Sciences at Istanbul Atlas University. To examine how AI systems respond to nutrition-related queries, the researchers asked five free artificial intelligence tools to generate three-day meal plans for four hypothetical teenagers.
The models tested in the study included ChatGPT-4, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Bing Chat, Claude, and Perplexity AI. Each model was given prompts specifying the age, height, and weight of 15-year-old adolescents. The four fictional cases included a boy and a girl whose body measurements fell into the 'overweight' category based on body mass index (BMI), as well as another boy and a girl whose measurements placed them in the 'obese' BMI category.
The chatbots were instructed to create daily meal plans consisting of three main meals and two snacks. Overall, the researchers collected 60 different daily meal plan variations generated by the AI systems.
Upon analyzing the responses, the researchers found notable patterns in the dietary recommendations. Many of the AI-generated plans consistently leaned toward higher protein intake, often suggesting about 20 grams more protein than what a professional dietitian would typically recommend for teenagers. In addition, the meal plans frequently resembled a low-carbohydrate or near-ketogenic diet, emphasizing significantly higher fat intake than standard adolescent nutrition guidelines.
The findings, published in Frontiers in Nutrition, showed that many suggested meal plans derived around 21 to 24 percent of daily energy from protein and as much as 41 to 45 percent from fats. Such distributions differ considerably from balanced dietary recommendations usually provided by trained nutrition experts.
Researchers cautioned that following such restrictive diet plans during adolescence could pose risks. Teenagers require sufficient calories and a balanced intake of nutrients to support physical growth, hormonal development, brain function, and energy needs. As a result, the study highlights the importance of seeking guidance from qualified healthcare professionals rather than relying solely on AI-generated diet advice for young people.
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