AI Chatbots Offer Teens Dangerous Diet Advice, Study Finds

As teenagers increasingly turn to artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for advice on a range of topics, a new study reveals a concerning trend: these chatbots consistently recommend dangerously low-calorie and nutritionally deficient meal plans that could hinder growth and development. The findings, published in Frontiers in Nutrition, highlight the unreliability of AI as a source of dietary guidance, particularly for adolescents.

The Risks of AI-Generated Diet Plans

Researchers from Istanbul Atlas University in Turkey tasked five popular AI chatbots – ChatGPT 4, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Bing Chat-5GPT, Claude 4.1, and Perplexity – with creating three-day meal plans for four hypothetical 15-year-olds. The prompts included details on the teens’ age, height, and weight, encompassing individuals within “overweight” and “obese” BMI percentiles. The study found that all five chatbots consistently underestimated energy intake and created imbalanced macronutrient ratios.

Registered dietitians reviewing the results confirmed the potential harm. Taiya Bach, a registered dietician and member of the teaching faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Nutritional Sciences, emphasized the critical need for adequate caloric intake during adolescence. “Adolescence is one of the big time periods of growth, next to infants,” Bach stated. “They need way more calories than a grown adult does.” Even for teens who are overweight, sufficient calories are vital for hormonal development and bone growth.

Specific Nutritional Deficiencies

The AI-generated meal plans tended to recommend:

• Higher Protein Intake: Approximately 20 grams more protein than a professional dietician would advise.
• High-Fat Diets: A leaning towards ketogenic-style diets with a significantly higher fat intake.
• Low Carbohydrate Intake: Roughly 115 grams fewer carbohydrates than recommended, resulting in a daily caloric deficit of around 700 calories – equivalent to skipping a meal.

Potential Health Consequences

These nutritional imbalances pose significant health risks for teenagers, including:

• Hormonal Imbalances: Caloric restriction can disrupt hormone production, potentially leading to menstrual irregularities in female athletes (primary or secondary amenorrhea) and suppressed testosterone and estradiol levels in both sexes.
• Relative Energy Deficiency Syndrome (RED-S): In athletes, chronic under-eating can lead to RED-S, increasing the risk of injury, fracture, poor performance, and delayed puberty.
• Stunted Growth: Insufficient carbohydrate intake can negatively impact linear growth and height potential.
• Bone Health Issues: Excessive protein intake can interfere with vitamin D and calcium absorption, potentially affecting bone health.
• Kidney Stones: The metabolic process of breaking down ketones, common in high-fat diets, can increase the risk of kidney stones.

The Need for Caution and Further Research

Experts urge caution regarding the use of AI chatbots for dietary advice. Sotiria Everett, a registered dietician and clinical associate professor at Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine, highlighted the increased risks for student athletes. Bach hopes the study will prompt further research and greater skepticism towards AI-generated information. “I do a lot of college level teaching and AI use, it’s big,” she said. “There’s lots of errors.”

While AI tools can be helpful in various contexts, relying on them for personalized nutritional guidance, especially during critical developmental stages like adolescence, is demonstrably risky. Consulting with a registered dietician or healthcare professional remains the safest and most reliable approach to ensuring adequate nutrition and optimal health.