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By Priyanjana Pramanik, MSc. Jan 3 2024 Reviewed by Lily Ramsey, LLM

A recent study published in JAMA Network Open investigated the accuracy and reliability of nutrition information provided by two versions of Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer  (ChatGPT) chatbots.

Their findings indicate that while chatbots cannot take the place of nutritionists, they can improve communication between health professionals and patients if they are refined and strengthened further.

Study:  Consistency and Accuracy of Artificial Intelligence for Providing Nutritional Information . Image Credit: Iryna Imago/Shutterstock.com Background

Many people today depend on the internet to access health, medicine, food, and nutrition information. However, studies have indicated that nearly half of the nutrition information online is low quality or inaccurate.

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have the potential to streamline how users navigate the vast array of publicly available scientific knowledge by providing conversational, easy-to-understand explanations of complex topics.

Previous research has evaluated how well chatbots can disseminate medical information, but their reliability in providing nutrition information remains relatively unexplored. About the study

In this cross-sectional study, researchers followed the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) reporting guideline. They assessed the accuracy of the information that ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4 provided on macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) and energy content of 222 foods in two languages – Traditional Chinese and English.

They provided a prompt that asked the chatbot to generate a table containing the nutritional profile of each food in its uncooked form. This search was conducted in September-October 2023. Related StoriesNutrition and aging: A two-way relationshipNew artificial intelligence algorithms facilitate diagnosis of difficult cancersAI-powered radiation therapy revolutionizes cancer treatment at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital

Each search was conducted five times to assess consistency; the coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated across these five measurements for each food.

The accuracy of the chatbot’s responses was judged by cross-referencing its reactions with the recommendations of nutritionists according to the food composition database maintained by the Food and Drug Administration of Taiwan.

A response was considered accurate if the chatbot’s estimate of energy (in kilocalories) or macronutrients (in grams) was within 10% to 20% of that provided by the nutritionists.

The researchers also calculated whether the chatbots’ responses significantly differed from the nutritionists’ recommendations and between the two versions of ChatGPT. Findings

There were no significant differences between the estimates provided by the chatbots and nutritionists regarding the fat, carbohydrate, and energy levels of eight menus for adults. However, the researchers found that protein estimations varied significantly. The chatbot responses were considered accurate for energy content in 35-48% of the 222 included foods and had a CV lower than 10%. ChatGPT-4, the more recent version, performed better than ChatGPT-3.5 overall but tended to overestimate protein levels. Conclusions

The study shows that chatbot responses compare well with nutritionists’ recommendations in certain respects but can overestimate protein levels and also show high levels of inaccuracy.

As they become widely available, they have the potential to be a convenient tool for people who wish to look up macronutrient and energy information about common foods and do not know which resources to consult.

However, the authors stress that chatbots are not a replacement for nutritionists; they can improve communication between patients and public health professionals by providing additional resources and simplifying complex medical language in conversational, easy-to-follow terms.

They also note that the foods they included in the search may not be frequently consumed, which has implications for the relevance of their findings.

AI chatbots cannot provide users with personalized dietary advice or precise portion sizes, nor can they generate specific dietary and nutrition-related guidelines. Moreover, chatbots may be unable to tailor their responses to the region where the user resides.

Portion sizes and consumption units differ greatly from country to country, as well as by the type of food and how it is prepared. Chatbots cannot factor in crucial cultural and geographic differences or provide the relevant household units for each consumer.

Arguably, the most important limitation is that ChatGPT is a general-purpose chatbot – not one trained specifically on dietetics and nutrition.

The cutoff for the training dataset was September 2021, so more recent research would not have been included. Users must not mistake chatbots for search engines, as their responses are a product of their training datasets as well as the wording of the prompts.

However, considering the immense popularity of chatbots and other forms of generative AI, future products will overcome these limitations and provide increasingly accurate, updated, relevant, and practical information on diet and nutrition. Journal reference:

Chen, Y.C., Ho, D.K.N.H., Chiu, W., Cheah, K., Mayasari, N.R., Chang, J. (2023) Consistency and accuracy of artificial intelligence for providing nutritional information. Hoang, Y.N., JAMA Network Open. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.50367. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2813295

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Sports

Panthers-Hurricanes Game 5 preview: Can Carolina force another game?

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Panthers-Hurricanes Game 5 preview: Can Carolina force another game?

All signs pointed to the Florida Panthers finishing off the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4, but the Canes kept the series rolling with a 3-0 win on Monday.

Will the Panthers finish the story in Game 5? Or will the Hurricanes send the festivities back to South Florida again?

Here are matchup notes heading into Wednesday’s Game 5 from ESPN Research, as well as betting intel from ESPN BET:

More on Game 4: Recap | Grades

Matchup notes

Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes
Game 5 | 8 p.m. ET | TNT

The Panthers’ odds to win the series are now -1600, adjusted from -5000 heading into Game 4. The Hurricanes’ odds have shifted to +750 (adjusted from +1500) after their win. The Panthers’ odds to win the Cup are now +105 (previously -110), while the Canes’ are now +1800. Sergei Bobrovsky is the leading Conn Smythe candidate in this series at +200, followed by Aleksander Barkov (+800).

Game 4 was the Canes’ first win in the round since Game 7 of the 2006 Eastern Conference finals against the Buffalo Sabres, snapping a 15-game conference finals losing streak. It was the longest losing streak in NHL playoff history for a team in the round preceding the Stanley Cup Final. The Hurricanes are now 4-4 all-time in Game 4s when trailing 3-0 in a best-of-seven series.

Frederik Andersen made 20 saves for his fifth career playoff shutout, his second with the Hurricanes. He joins Cam Ward (four), Kevin Weekes (two) and Petr Mrazek (two) as goaltenders with multiple playoff shutouts in Whalers/Hurricanes Stanley Cup playoffs history.

Carolina’s Logan Stankoven scored playoff goal No. 5 in the second period. He joins Erik Cole (six in 2002) and Warren Foegele (five in 2019) as the only rookies in Whalers/Hurricanes history to score at least five goals in a single Stanley Cup playoffs year.

Sebastian Aho scored an empty-net goal in the third period, his 32nd career playoff tally. That extends his own franchise record for career goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Panthers were shut out for the second time this postseason; both games were at home — the other instance was Game 6 of the second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Florida went 0-4 on the power play in Game 4, and the team is now 0-8 with the man advantage in the last two games of this series after going 4-for-5 in Games 1 and 2.

Though he hasn’t scored a goal in the past two games, Sam Bennett has a team-leading nine this postseason. That is two shy of the franchise record in a single playoff year, currently held by Matthew Tkachuk (2023) and Carter Verhaeghe (2024).


Scoring leaders

GP: 16 | G: 6 | A: 9

GP: 14 | G: 5 | A: 9

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UK

Liverpool fan says his baby was flung 15ft in his pram and his partner run over during trophy parade

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Liverpool fan says his baby was flung 15ft in his pram and his partner run over during trophy parade

A father has told Sky News how his partner was driven over, and his baby son was flung 15ft in his pram, after they were hit by a vehicle during the Liverpool parade collision.

Daniel Everson, 36, had been with Sheree Aldridge and their five-month-old baby, Teddy, at Liverpool FC’s victory parade on Monday.

“The best day of my life turned into worst”, said Daniel, a lifelong fan of ‘The Reds’.

Daniel described the moment the car came towards him and his family.

“I tried to hold on to the front of the car and try and stop it, push it, do whatever I could [to stop it] from hitting my partner and my baby.

'The best day of my life turned into worst', Daniel Everson told Sky News.
Image:
Daniel Everson was in the crowd for the Liverpool trophy parade when the incident took place

“Me and my partner were flat on the roof, on the bonnet… we were just both trying to hold on for dear life with Ted next to us.

“And my partner went under the wheels of the car, of the front of the car, and it rolled over her leg, and I just bounced off to the side, but my boy and his pram got bounced totally in the opposite direction – about 15ft down the road.

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“As soon as that happened, I just started screaming for my partner, and I found her and I asked where Teddy was, and she didn’t know… and I found him and he was okay, thank God.

“He was in the road, in his pram, on his back, and I grabbed him. I chucked the pushchair to the side and I ran up to some paramedics with him.”

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The suspect is being held on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving.

Daniel, from Telford, said he felt like he was in “hell” as he rushed back to find Sheree.

“I had to carry her up the road with four police officers holding her while she was screaming and crying. At that point, I didn’t know what was wrong with her, but I could see the injuries to her leg,” he explained.

Sheree, 36, is recovering at Aintree University Hospital after suffering muscle tissue damage. Daniel has been allowed to return home with Teddy after he was assessed at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

“I feel a lot of emotions right now. Upset, angry, traumatised. A lot of unanswered questions that need to be answered.

To me, it just wasn’t handled properly – the situation with the car getting that far into the crowd, in my opinion, he should not have got anywhere near us.”

Merseyside Police have now been given more time to question a 53-year-old arrested after a car struck a crowd at Liverpool FC’s victory parade on Monday.

The suspect, who police have described as a white British man from the local area, is being held on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving, and drug driving.

Police have said the extra time they have been given to question the suspect runs into Thursday.

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Politics

Pakistan announces Bitcoin strategic reserve

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Pakistan announces Bitcoin strategic reserve

Pakistan announces Bitcoin strategic reserve

Bilal Bin Saqib, head of Pakistan’s crypto council, announced on May 28 that the country is moving to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

Speaking at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, Saqib said the government of Pakistan followed the United States’ lead in establishing a Bitcoin strategic reserve and is embracing pro-crypto regulatory policies. The government official told the audience:

“Today is a very historic day. Today, I announce the Pakistani government is setting up its own government-led Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, and we want to thank the United States of America again because we were inspired by them.”

The announcement represents a significant departure from the government of Pakistan’s previous stance on cryptocurrencies, holding that crypto would never be legal in the country.

Pakistan’s shift reflects the broader trend of nation-states adopting pro-crypto policies following the regulatory shift in Washington, DC under the President Donald Trump administration.

Government, Bitcoin Reserve, Bitcoin2025
Bilal Bin Saqib at the Bitcoin 2025 conference announcing a Bitcoin strategic reserve. Source: Cointelegraph

Related: Pakistan appoints special assistant to PM on blockchain and crypto

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