MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A growing number of teenagers are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) platforms for advice on dieting and weight loss, a trend raising concerns among doctors and parents in Memphis about the potential for inaccurate and even dangerous health recommendations.
Jaquay Brister, a parent, clinician, and professor in Memphis, expressed alarm. “AI, it’s a system, it is a tool. It doesn’t really understand anything about you or your family history, so it is limiting information that you are getting from it,” she said. Concerns center on the lack of personalized medical context AI provides, potentially leading to harmful advice for adolescents.
Jay Lattimore, a Memphis resident, echoed these worries, noting the ease with which misinformation spreads among young people online. “It’s really scary to see when people are taking advice like it is gospel when it’s not sourced or cited or even correct,” Lattimore said. He highlighted the risk of AI becoming another source of unverified information, compounding the problem of health-related misinformation already prevalent on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
Dr. Michelle Bowden, a pediatrician and medical director of the eating disorder services program at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, confirmed that teens are increasingly seeking AI’s input on weight loss strategies. “I don’t experience surprised that they’re going to AI when they’re thinking about how can I lose some weight or what is a healthy diet, or how can I build muscle,” she stated. However, she cautioned that teens often accept AI-generated responses as factual without critical evaluation.
Dr. Bowden explained that AI algorithms draw information from across the internet, including sources lacking medical or nutritional credentials. This can result in diet plans based on adult nutritional needs or outdated information, which are particularly harmful for teenagers undergoing puberty and requiring increased nutritional support. A recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition found that AI-generated meal plans for teens seeking weight loss contained an average of 700 fewer calories per day than recommended by human dietitians, with significant imbalances in macronutrient ratios.
The potential consequences of following such restrictive diets are serious, Dr. Bowden warned. She cited risks including slow digestion, nausea, constipation, low blood sugar, and, in severe cases, dangerously low heart rates requiring hospitalization. “They could pass out from having a low blood sugar,” she said. “They might even gain really low heartbeats if they start losing weight significantly, in which case we need to admit them to the hospital.”
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital has observed a rise in patients presenting with eating disorders that originated with AI-driven calorie calculations, nutritional analyses, or meal plans. Dr. Bowden noted that what often begins as a pursuit of a “healthy diet” recommended by AI can escalate into increasingly restrictive eating patterns, ultimately developing into anorexia.
Parents are advised to be vigilant for warning signs, such as teens abruptly eliminating foods they previously enjoyed or allowing food choices to dominate their social lives. Dr. Bowden emphasized the irreplaceable value of personalized medical advice. “Anything you found on the internet is not the same as what you get from human interaction,” she said. “Your doctor or your dietitian is going to be able to take your exact phase of life, your exact activity level, your exact size and shape and help give you the advice for the nutrition that you need.”
According to a Pew Research Center survey, nearly two-thirds of teens report using chatbots, with approximately 30% using them daily. A January study also indicated that nearly 48% of teens 16 and older have attempted to lose weight within the past year, suggesting a significant overlap between AI usage and weight-loss efforts among adolescents.