As we begin 2023 we look back and forward:

• U.S. life expectancy drops largely due to COVID and drug overdoses but health-related conditions such as heart disease also figure into decreased life expectancy  (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/20220831.htm).
• Inflation has taken a big bite out of budgets: when it goes up health outcomes fall as people choose between everyday costs and those that support health such as medication, healthy food and gym memberships (https://hbr.org/2022/11/when-inflation-rises-health-outcomes-fall); inflation is also a threat to food security as food banks/pantries struggle with increased food and other costs (https://blog.ucsusa.org/alice-reznickova/inflation-is-a-triple-threat-to-food-and-nutrition-security-heres-why/).

Obesity and related news…

According to a new model, youth type 2 diabetes, especially for non-Hispanic Black youth, is projected to surge in the next 4 decades if the recent upswing continues (https://www.statnews.com/2022/12/30/diabetes-in-youth-is-set-to-skyrocket-in-coming-decades/). The American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for treating obesity in youth have been updated and they include surgery and medications for the first time (https://khn.org/morning-breakout/childhood-obesity-guidelines-updated-now-consider-medications-surgery/). Breakthrough obesity drugs suppress hunger but there are concerns about their lifetime use and other issues (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-04505-7). By 2030 inactivity to take worldwide toll with 3/4 of the cases occurring in lower/upper middle income countries (https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/12/lack-exercise-inactivity-preventable-diseases/). Here are the U.S. Healthy People 3030 objectives (which include obesity and related outcomes) organized by conditions, behaviors, populations, setting and systems and social determinants of health (https://health.gov/healthypeople).

In other nutrition-related health news…

• In 2021 more than 3,000 children under 6 unintentionally ate edible marijuana (https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/01/03/1146592977/3-000-young-children-accidentally-ate-weed-edibles-in-2021-study-finds). When compared to 2017, this is an increase of 1,375% when a little over 200 children did so. Almost 23% of the children needed to be hospitalized. A new study finds that climate labels on fast food restaurant menus lead to choosing vegetarian, plant-based items (https://www.tastingtable.com/1151606/new-study-finds-climate-conscious-menu-labels-impact-food-choices/); original research (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2799947).

ChatGPT and nutrition/food…

• What is ChatGPT – a very new AI-based chatbot system that creates conversational responses to questions. You might have read about it when students used it to write essays for school assignments. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2022/12/21/chatgpt-everything-you-really-need-to-know-in-simple-terms/. Concerns about ChatGPT: it doesn’t search the Internet to create responses, it might generate incorrect/biased info/share harmful suggestions and its conversational style can lead users to accept responses without checking accuracy; a deep dive into how ChatGPT was developed/how it works (https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/vhhk7xrni). Stay tuned!

Examples of using ChatGPT in food/nutrition…

• Need help in the kitchen? – sample ChatGPT responses (https://thetakeout.com/how-chatgpt-can-help-cook-meal-plan-prep-shopping-ideas-1849959088); make you a better cook – sample responses (https://thespoon.tech/get-ready-because-chatgpt-or-something-like-it-is-going-to-change-how-we-cook/); generate a weight loss/meal plan (https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/the-five-best-uses-so-far-for-chatgpts-ai-chatbot/); help with your meals – sample responses (https://medium.com/new-writers-welcome/how-chatgpt-can-help-you-with-your-meals-318bd7bbb158); healthy breakfast ideas – sample responses (https://www.businessinsider.com/i-used-chatgpt-for-day-and-found-it-very-impressive-2022-12). Lexi L. MacMillan Uribe, PhD, RDN, chair of the SNEB DigiTech Division is pursuing research to understand how ChatGPT is used and about the platform’s accuracy in communicating nutrition information. She is interested in collaborating with other researchers interested in this area and can be reached via email (macmillanuribe@ag.tamu.edu).