What are the risks of following a diet created by ChatGPT?

You've asked the Maldita.es WhatsApp chatbot (+34 644229319) about using tools like ChatGPT to ask for nutritional advice or even complete diets. Videos have gone viral on TikTok of people claiming this artificial intelligence is their "new nutritionist" and sharing menus created by the chatbot for weight loss. However, nutrition and artificial intelligence specialists warn that these recommendations may be erroneous, outdated , and, above all, fail to take into account key factors such as illnesses, intolerances, or emotional relationships with food.

The menus generated by ChatGPT may seem healthy, but they don't ask for basic information such as weight, allergies, or the presence of a pre-existing condition. What the tool proposes are generic diets, which bear no resemblance to the work a nutritionist would perform. Alejandra Benito, a nutrition and dietetics expert, explains to Maldita.es that professional support includes physical, emotional, and social aspects : "It's not just about nutrition," the expert recalls. "We adapt to the patient, to their needs, their tastes, their particularities, or their conditions. We help them with any difficulties that may arise and listen to them to understand what's important to them. AI can't replace that ."

An example of its potential consequences is the case of a 60-year-old man who had to be hospitalized after suffering from chronic poisoning. The patient followed ChatGPT's instructions for three months to replace common salt with sodium bromide when he asked for alternatives. "The risk of AI creating a diet that includes misinformation, lacks scientific evidence, or includes risky practices is high," says Benito.

From the field of artificial intelligence, Verónica Bolón, an AI expert at the University of A Coruña, explains that the chatbot lacks a system of rules that would prevent, for example, recommending gluten to someone with celiac disease or dairy to someone with lactose intolerance. "They've learned to imitate the typical elements of a diet, and that's what they offer," she points out.

However, the risks aren't limited to medical problems. According to Benito, searching for automatic diets on the internet or social media can lead to eating disorders (EDs) : "Many can end up with a stormy relationship with food because no tool warned them that what they were doing was obsessing, restricting , and putting their physical and mental health at risk ." Frustration at not being able to stick to a diet, guilt, or repeated attempts to lose weight that don't work can become "the perfect cocktail for developing an ED ."

Experts insist that AI can be a supportive tool, but it doesn't replace consulting a dietitian-nutritionist . Benito reminds us that we must be cautious with this type of program and with any system that promises to take care of our health without professional supervision.