Three years ago, I was asked to improve nutrition programming for a large USAID implementing partner. They were concerned about chronic malnutrition in target populations, and its impact on health, physical and cognitive growth, intellectual performance, and future earning potential.
I suggested that we use artificial intelligence to better understand what people are eating, and then social and behavior change communication to change food consumption patterns.
For example, deploy a smartphone app where constituents upload photos of their food and get instant nutritional analysis and caloric content. This would use standard computer vision and pattern recognition technologies – solutions that the organization could acquire and deploy quickly. Sadly, they never did.
Use ChatGPT Visual Skills for Nutrition Analysis
Today you do not need to develop your own smartphone application. You can simply upload photos of the meals to ChatGPT and ask it for the meal’s ingredients, nutritional value, and calorie type and amount.
For example, I asked ChatGPT to analyze a photograph of a common African meal and tell me a) What are the ingredients? b) How nutritious is it? c) How many calories it contained?
The unedited result is below. Nutrition experts: how accurate is its analysis?
Now just imagine if you actually trained Generative AI on photographs of common region-specific foods and calculated their vitamin, mineral, and micronutrient levels. Then you could supply very accurate nutritional analysis, and understand food consumption patterns in real time. Combine this with high quality SBCC messaging, and we could reduce malnutrition and stunting globally.
FRANI proved it works in Ghana. So why aren’t you doing it already?
GenAI African Meal Nutritional Analysis
This dish appears to be a traditional West African meal, possibly featuring pounded yam (swallow) served with a richly flavored vegetable soup that includes tripe (cow stomach), leafy greens, and various meats or proteins. Here’s a detailed breakdown:
Ingredients:
- Pounded Yam (Swallow) – Made from yam that is boiled and pounded into a smooth, stretchy consistency.
- Vegetable Soup – Often based on local greens like ugu (fluted pumpkin leaves), spinach, or bitterleaf, cooked with:
- Palm Oil – For flavor and richness.
- Spices and Seasonings – Such as chili peppers, onions, stock cubes, and salt.
- Proteins – Likely tripe, cow skin (kpomo), and possibly other meats or fish.
- Crayfish or Dry Fish – For depth of flavor.
- Peppers – Red chili peppers or scotch bonnets for heat.
Approximate Nutritional Values (per serving):
- Pounded Yam (200g):
- Calories: 230
- Protein: 2g
- Fat: 0.5g
- Carbs: 55g
- Fiber: 2g
- Vegetable Soup with Tripe (200g):
- Calories: 250
- Protein: 20g
- Fat: 15g (mostly from palm oil)
- Carbs: 5g
- Fiber: 4g
- Cow Skin (kpomo) (50g):
- Calories: 70
- Protein: 6g
- Fat: 3g
- Carbs: 0g
Total Approximate Calories:
550 calories per serving, depending on portion sizes, oil used, and additional proteins.
Nutrition Overview:
- Carbohydrates: The pounded yam is high in carbs, providing quick energy, making it ideal for physically active individuals.
- Protein: The soup is rich in protein from tripe, kpomo, and potentially other meats or fish, aiding in muscle repair and maintenance.
- Fats: Palm oil adds significant fat, including some saturated fat, but also provides vitamins A and E.
- Fiber and Micronutrients: The leafy greens contribute dietary fiber, iron, calcium, and other essential vitamins.
Balanced Nutrition:
This meal is highly nutritious, offering a good mix of carbs, protein, and healthy fats, along with essential micronutrients from the vegetables. To make it healthier, the amount of palm oil can be reduced, and leaner proteins can be used. This is a hearty and energy-dense meal, typical of West African cuisines, and provides sustenance for daily activities.
