Whereas Singapore shouldn’t be identified to have a significant weight problems drawback, the variety of obese Singaporeans is creeping up as an increasing number of folks lead sedentary life and take pleasure in an ever rising variety of snacks (to not point out the wealthy native meals scene).
The Nationwide Inhabitants Well being Survey carried out in 2022 discovered that round one in eight Singaporeans had been overweight, whereas one in six college students below the age of 18 had been obese.
To deal with the difficulty, Dr Jocelyn Chew, Assistant Professor at Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Research of Yong Lavatory Lin Faculty of Medication (NUS), determined to enlist synthetic intelligence (AI) to assist people preserve wholesome consuming habits all through the day.
The eTRIP app’s identify might recommend one other journey service, however it’s really an abbreviation for Consuming Set off-Response Inhibition Program, and options image-based meals recognition that can assist you rely and observe energy, in addition to a big language mannequin (LLM)-powered chatbot and an consuming impulse set off prediction and prevention system.
Weight reduction, in any case, begins with what you set in your plate.
The app performs a twofold position. On the one hand, it helps you register all the things you eat and monitor every day caloric consumption and, on the opposite, it learns your habits and adjusts its behaviour to intervene and stop you from snacking on the aspect, by determining if you find yourself almost certainly to battle pointless cravings.
Its position is that of a well being coach proper in your pocket, actively reminding and motivating you to stay to the plan.
This system started in 2023, with three phases deliberate—the final of which is nearing its conclusion:
On the Singapore Prevention & Cardiac Rehabilitation Symposium, which came about over the previous weekend, Dr Chew shared the newest outcomes of the 12-week trial carried out on over 400 members with a Physique Mass Index of 23 or increased.
They appear to be fairly promising.
80% of them have developed more healthy consuming habits and the common weight-loss recorded throughout your entire group was 3kg, though essentially the most profitable people shed as much as 13kg—or about 1kg per week. That’s each fast and wholesome.
The AI benefit
You is likely to be questioning what the large deal is—in any case, there are a lot of different well being monitoring apps obtainable already. But it surely’s their nonetheless restricted performance that led Dr Chew to pursue the creation of a wiser, clever answer that may be extra proactive in interaction with the user:
Folks ask how eTRIP is completely different from all the things else in the marketplace. A easy reply can be the extent of personalisation we provide—eTRIP’s AI-based algorithm is ready to be taught customers’ behaviour and tailor the intervention accordingly.
Dr Jocelyn Chew
Based on Dr Chew, the app can predict when the consumer is prone to snack based mostly on behavioural knowledge. For instance, if a consumer usually snacks at 11PM whereas watching TV, the app can ship a personalised immediate at 10:55PM to remind them of their motivations for reducing weight or methods to handle overeating.
Whereas early variations can be found in app shops on Android and iOS, the app continues to be below improvement, with knowledge being collected and reviewed and new options repeatedly being added.
As an example, the continuing third part was anticipated to incorporate lively glucose monitoring, permitting the software program to inform the customers of spikes or drops in its ranges and offering suggestions on the fly. It additionally means that you can regulate the tone of voice and character of the chatbot—whether or not you like gentler, extra encouraging language or maybe a tricky sergeant, imposing self-discipline that you just’re combating.
It’s clear that the aim is to make the most of AI and create one thing greater than only a passive tracker of what you ate daily, however moderately an lively, at all times monitoring, at all times considering private assistant, who understands your wants, behaviours and character.
After all, on the finish of the day you’re nonetheless the one bearing the duty. However maybe because of eTRIP it would really feel such as you’re not carrying it alone—and that is likely to be simply sufficient for many individuals to search out the breakthrough they had been searching for.
Featured Picture Credit score: abillion/ Unsplash
