Checking in to follow workouts, taking photos to identify calories, and customizing recipes using big data... AI has become a "weight loss tool" for professionals in the workplace.
Is it reliable to leave weight management to algorithms?
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AI is becoming a "weight loss partner" for many office workers - with the help of AI, they can record their diet and correct their movements, and be encouraged to exercise and control their diet under the motivation of punching in, so as to reap visible weight loss results. Behind the popularity of AI weight management tools, hidden worries are increasingly emerging: weight loss plans are "fixed" and recommendations are the same. Some people are still reminded that "exercise is not up to standard" on the day they have a fever. The algorithm only relies on basic data to generate a general solution, and cannot sense the real-time status of the user such as fatigue and physical discomfort. Some users even suffer from physical discomfort due to insufficient caloric intake and excessive exercise intensity. Experts remind that AI is only an auxiliary tool for health management and cannot replace doctor’s diagnosis.
"Taking photos before meals has become my first step in eating." Wang Lu, who works in a financial company in Shanghai, spends a few minutes every day before meals to use AI tools to calculate the calories consumed in this meal.
The fast-paced work and lack of exercise in daily life make many working people face weight and health anxiety.
Checking in to follow workouts, taking photos to identify calories, customizing recipes using big data... More and more office workers like Wang Lu are using AI tools to manage their weight, and a number of AI weight loss tools and applications are also becoming popular. However, behind the strong demand, problems such as uneven experience, lack of targeted recommendations, and difficulty in timely identification of health risks have gradually emerged. Experts remind that AI weight loss lowers the threshold for health management, but after all, it is only an auxiliary tool and cannot replace doctors for diagnosis.
"Personal training" on your mobile phone
"After working all day, I'm too tired to go to the gym to find a personal trainer. With AI weight loss, I can directly turn on my phone to follow the exercises at home. The phone's camera will track my posture in real time. If my movements are not standard, I will be prompted immediately on how to adjust." Wang Lu is now a loyal user of AI weight loss. "Tell the AI your height, weight, and weight loss expectations, and it will give a complete set of diet suggestions and exercise plans."
The so-called "AI weight loss" means that users use AI tools to take photos to identify food calories, input body data to obtain weight loss suggestions, and follow AI courses to complete exercise check-ins. Some software also has bonus incentives and daily check-in mechanisms to urge users to adhere to diet control and regular exercise.
"I have been using AI to lose weight for 56 days, successfully lost 10 pounds, and received a bonus of more than 1,000 yuan." Zhou Zhou, who works in Jiangsu, told reporters that the AI weight loss tool will force him to complete a certain amount of exercise every day and control his diet. "The bonus incentive plays a role in supervising the check-in."
What Wang Lu values more is "cost-effectiveness". "One-on-one personal trainers in the gym provide guidance on diet and fitness, and the price of a class is basically 400 to 500 yuan. It also takes half a day to go to the hospital to consult a doctor. AI weight loss is generally free, and it is online 24 hours a day. You can record and exercise during breaks."
The popularity of AI weight loss is also inseparable from policy guidance. In 2024, 16 departments including the National Health Commission jointly launched the "Weight Management Year" three-year action, making it clear that they will "develop weight management tools suitable for residents." The subsequently released "Guiding Principles for Weight Management (2024 Edition)" further proposed the rational and standardized use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and wearable devices to meet the needs of personalized, precise, and sustainable weight management.
"The body is pushed along"
Under the craze, hidden worries gradually emerged.
"Sometimes I'm tired after working all morning, but the lunch recommended by the AI is still very low in calories, and the exercise plan has not been reduced accordingly." Zhang Yafei, from a major Internet company in Beijing, said that in order to achieve the desired weight loss goal within the specified date, the intensity of exercise arranged by the AI every day is very high, and it is difficult to adjust in time according to the user's physical condition that day. "It feels like the body is being pushed all the time, and there is no room to breathe."
What frightened Zhang Yafei was a high-intensity interval training session.
"Once after get off work, I finished a set of high-intensity interval training with AI. I felt flustered, dizzy, and my body couldn't bear it anymore." Zhang Yafei said that on that day, under the recommendation of AI, his total calorie intake was less than 1,000 kcal.
Reporters searching on social platforms found that similar feedback is not uncommon. The caloric standards and exercise plans given by AI are "immutable" and will not be flexibly adjusted due to special circumstances such as overtime, illness, or staying up late. Some users also posted that on the day they had a fever, they were still reminded by AI that "today's caloric intake has exceeded the standard, and exercise has not yet reached the standard."
"AI has blind spots in health monitoring, and it is difficult to identify danger signals sent by the body in a timely manner." Zuo Xiaoxia, chief physician of the Nutrition Department of the Eighth Medical Center of the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, believes that the problem with AI weight loss is that it pays too much attention to weight data, that is, how many kilograms have been lost, and pays little attention to whether the individual has other physical discomforts.
Liu Longhua, associate professor at the School of Sports and Health of Shanghai Sport University, pointed out that currently AI usually performs algorithm matching based on limited information such as age, height, weight, and amount of exercise, which is still essentially a general recommendation. "Eating 500 fewer calories a day or increasing exercise may have completely different effects on different people. True individualized weight loss is not about simply counting calories, but taking into account safety, effectiveness and long-term sustainability."
"Weight loss aid" cannot replace a doctor's diagnosis
In fact, the policy level has already drawn boundaries for the role of AI in the health field.
In August 2025, the State Council issued the "Opinions on In-depth Implementation of the "Artificial Intelligence +" Action", proposing to "explore and promote high-level resident health assistants that everyone can enjoy, and orderly promote the application of artificial intelligence in auxiliary diagnosis and treatment, health management, medical insurance services and other scenarios." Soon, the National Health Commission and five other departments issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting and Standardizing the Development of "Artificial Intelligence + Medical and Health" Applications.
Previously, the National Health Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine have issued notices to promote the standardization of healthy weight management clinics in medical institutions, providing offline options for weight loss people who want to receive professional guidance.
"AI is a double-edged sword. Proper use can improve efficiency, but otherwise it may affect physical health." Zuo Xiaoxia believes that AI is more responsible for monitoring and assistance, while doctors are responsible for diagnosis and prescription. "You can use AI to record what you eat every day, how many pounds you lose, and how many steps you take. But when it comes to disease diagnosis, you still have to find a professional doctor."
"AI weight loss lowers the threshold for health management and can help young people record diet, exercise and weight changes more conveniently." Liu Longhua pointed out that the real value of AI is not to make decisions for people, but to help people discover problems, form rules, and improve the execution of health management.
Liu Longhua told reporters that a professional individualized weight loss plan will comprehensively consider body fat and muscle mass, metabolic indicators, liver and kidney function, blood sugar and blood lipids, past diseases, medication status, eating habits and exercise ability, and even genetic background, and will be dynamically adjusted during the implementation process. "When losing weight, you should first set reasonable goals and avoid extremely low-calorie diets, long-term fasting, or sudden high-intensity exercise; secondly, don't just look at weight, but also pay attention to waist circumference, body fat, muscle mass, and physical condition."
"During the process of using AI to lose weight, if obvious fatigue, dizziness, palpitations, persistent vomiting, menstrual disorders, etc. occur, you should stop immediately and seek medical treatment. People who are more obese, or are complicated by diabetes, fatty liver, cardiovascular disease, and are taking medication should be under the guidance of a doctor or nutritionist." Liu Longhua reminded.
Our reporter Liu Xiaoxiao
"Worker Daily" (October 12, 2026, Page 06)
