Olivia Scholes, de 28 años, de Vancouver, British Columbia, tiene síndrome de ovario poliquístico o SOP. Es una de cada 10 mujeres a nivel mundial a las que se les diagnostica esta afección hormonal, que puede causar múltiples quistes ováricos, infertilidad, aumento de peso y otros problemas.

Después de su diagnóstico hace 10 años, Scholes controló su afección en parte tratando de consumir, o evitar, ciertos alimentos y bebidas. Pero a veces, transferir lo que sabía que tenía que hacer a sus platillos diarios era complicado y requería de tiempo.

“El hecho de tener esa información no significa que planee mis comidas con esa información todo el tiempo”, dijo Scholes.

Scholes estaba navegando por TikTok cuando vio un video que explicaba cómo se usaba ChatGPT para crear un plan detallado de nutrición y entrenamiento.

Ese video la interesó a ver si chatbot, un programa de inteligencia artificial entrenado para ofrecer respuestas detalladas, podría brindarle opciones de comidas adaptadas al SOP.

El control del peso y de la insulina puede ayudar a reducir el impacto de la afección. Debido a que muchas personas con SOP experimentan resistencia a la insulina, controlar sus niveles a través de la dieta es uno de los mejores pasos que se puede tomar.

Scholes comenzó preguntando a ChatGPT si sabía cuáles eran los mejores alimentos para las personas con síndrome de ovario poliquístico y resistencia a la insulina, y el chatbot le proporcionó una lista. Luego preguntó si el sistema podría darle un plan de dos semanas, con tres comidas al día, dos refrigerios y postres sin edulcorantes artificiales.

En cuestión de segundos, Scholes tenía una lista de alimentos, que luego le pidió a ChatGPT que la convirtiera en una lista de compras.

Scholes dijo que, al transformar la información en comidas planificadas, el chatbot  le facilitó la compra de ingredientes para una variedad de menús.

“La gran ayuda de ChatGPT no solo fue que tomó la información que ya conocía; puso esa información en un espacio tangible para mí”, dijo Scholes.

ChatGPT, desarrollada por la empresa OpenAI, se lanzó públicamente en noviembre y llegó a 100 millones de usuarios activos en enero, lo que la convirtió en la aplicación para consumidores de más rápido crecimiento en la historia.

ChatGPT está entrenada en una gran cantidad de texto de una variedad de fuentes, como Wikipedia, libros, artículos de noticias y revistas científicas. El chatbot avanzado de inteligencia artificial (IA) permite a los usuarios ingresar un mensaje de texto y recibir un resultado generado de manera inteligente, que además, permite iniciar una conversación.

Otros chatbots, como el chat de Google Bard y Bing AI, también de Microsoft, son similares a ChatGPT y pueden planificar comidas.

Algunos profesionales de salud y bienestar dicen que la capacidad de ChatGPT para tener conversaciones puede ser útil para generar planes de comidas e ideas para personas que tienen objetivos de salud y necesidades nutricionales específicas.

Scholes compartió su experiencia usando ChatGPT en un video de TikTok. Ese video ahora tiene más de 1.3 millones de visitas y una sección de comentarios colmada de preguntas sobre su experiencia.

En febrero, Jamie Askey, de Lufkin, Texas, hizo un video de TikTok explicando cómo usar ChatGPT para generar planes gratis de comidas y listas de compras que cumplan con los objetivos de calorías y macronutrientes: los nutrientes que el cuerpo necesita, como grasas, carbohidratos y proteínas.

Askey ha hecho muchos videos desde principios de 2021 dando consejos de salud, desde recetas fáciles para preparar comidas hasta consejos sobre cómo dejar de comer compulsivamente.

Su video ahora tiene más de 13,000 visitas en TikTok, con gente agradecida por los consejos.

“Lo mejor de este sitio web es que es muy conversacional”, dijo Askey sobre ChatGPT.

A diferencia de Google y otros motores de búsqueda, los usuarios no tienen que buscar un tema a la vez. El formato de diálogo hace posible que ChatGPT siga una instrucción, brinde una respuesta detallada y responda a preguntas de seguimiento.

Los usuarios interesados en generar opciones de comidas pueden decirle a ChatGPT “Quiero que actúes como nutricionista” o “Quiero que me hagas un plan de nutrición saludable”. El chatbot luego responderá con preguntas aclaratorias para ayudar a generar un plan de comidas apropiado. Es posible que el usuario deba proporcionar información adicional, como su altura, peso, restricciones dietéticas y objetivos.

Askey, quien es enfermera y entrenadora certificada en macronutrición, advierte que las personas con enfermedades crónicas deben ser evaluadas por un profesional antes de usar un chatbot para planificar comidas.

“Las posibilidades son infinitas cuando le preguntas a esta máquina”, dijo Askey. “Pero tienes que pensar que no siempre es blanco y negro. Hay áreas grises y ahí es donde entra en juego el historial de salud. Ahí es donde entra en juego el historial de dietas”.

Los usuarios de ChatGPT están entusiasmados con las capacidades del programa y con la idea de que podría simplificar las tareas cotidianas.

Pero el chatbot no está exento de fallas. Un problema: los datos de entrenamiento de ChatGPT están actualizados hasta 2021, lo que significa que parte de la información que proporciona puede estar desactualizada. Para la planificación de comidas y la nutrición, el programa no puede obtener las últimas pautas de salud y bienestar, lo que puede ser particularmente problemático para las personas con ciertas afecciones de salud.

El modelo también puede generar información incorrecta, proporcionando respuestas incorrectas o malinterpretando lo que pregunta el usuario. Cuando Scholes le pidió al chatbot las comidas para dos semanas, el chatbot se detuvo en el día ocho.

Algunos usuarios también han expresado su preocupación por fallas y sesgos dentro de la tecnología que pueden afectar negativamente los tipos de respuestas que genera. En diciembre de 2022, Steven T. Piantadosi, profesor asociado de Psicología en la Universidad de California-Berkeley, publicó una cadena de Twitter que destacaba los sesgos.

OpenAI, la empresa de investigación de inteligencia artificial detrás de ChatGPT, ha reconocido el potencial de sesgo dentro de la IA. Dijo en un blog en febrero que muchas personas están ” preocupadas por los sesgos en el diseño y el impacto de los sistemas de IA”.

En esa publicación, la compañía también describió algunos de los pasos que está tomando para eliminarlos.

Scholes se pregunta si los prejuicios existentes contra ciertos tipos de personas podrían afectar sus resultados.

“Si ChatGPT se basa en algún tipo de material fóbico contra las personas con sobrepeso, y yo busco material dirigido a mujeres gordas que lidian con problemas de gordura y SOP, ¿qué tipo de sesgos ya están integrados en ese sistema?”

Para cualquiera que esté considerando usar ChatGPT para generar un plan de comidas con metas de salud, Askey recomendó siempre verificar. “La IA no es una persona”, dijo. “Entonces, siempre tienes que verificar”.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).

Trying to eat more vegetables, but finding it difficult? Vegetables will add fibre, vitamins and minerals to your meals, and eating a healthy diet can help reduce your risk of developing coronary heart disease by helping you to maintain healthy...

A team led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin has developed an ultrathin, lightweight electronic tattoo, or e-tattoo, that attaches to the chest for continuous, mobile heart monitoring outside of a clinical setting. It includes two sensors that together provide a clear picture of heart health, giving clinicians a better chance to catch red flags for heart disease early.

“Most heart conditions are not very obvious. The damage is being done in the background and we don’t even know it,” said Nanshu Lu, a professor in the Department of Aerospace and Engineering Mechanics and a lead author of the study. “If we can have continuous, mobile monitoring at home, then we can do early diagnosis and treatment, and if that can be done, 80% of heart disease can be prevented.”

The study is published in Advanced Electronic Materials.

As a continuation of an earlier chest e-tattoo project, this new version is wireless and mobile, which is enabled by a series of small active circuits and sensors carefully arranged and linked by stretchable interconnections and conforms to the chest via a medical dressing. The clear devices are far less intrusive than other monitoring systems and more comfortable for patients.

Currently, there isn’t a ready solution for long-term, comfortable monitoring outside of the clinical setting. Clinicians can run tests on patients when they visit, but they may not catch some heart issues because signs of disease are not present at that moment.

The e-tattoo weighs only 2.5 grams and runs on a battery the size of a penny. The battery has a life of more than 40 hours and can easily be changed by the user.

It provides two key heart measurements. The electrocardiogram, or ECG, is the electrical signal from the heart. And the seismocardiogram, or SCG, is the acoustic signal from the heart that comes from the heart valves.

ECG can be measured by mobile devices such as an Apple Watch. And the SCG can be monitored via stethoscope. But there is no mobile solution that approximates a stethoscope or takes both measurements.

“Those two measurements, electrical and mechanical, together can provide a much more comprehensive and complete picture of what’s happening with the heart,” Lu said. “There are many more heart characteristics that could be extracted out of the two synchronously measured signals in a noninvasive manner.”

Monitoring those two factors, and synchronizing them, makes it possible to measure cardiac time intervals, which are a major indicator of heart disease and other problems.

The researchers have already tested the device on five healthy patients in their day-to-day environments, with a low error rate in measurements compared with currently available monitoring options. The next step involves further testing and validating the initial results and expanding to different types of patients.

This project rose out of a multi-university partnership of researchers who were awarded a grant in 2021 from the National Science Foundation’s ASCENT program to study chest e-tattoo technology. Lu and her team have refined and adapted the e-tattoo technology to measure multiple parts of the body over the years, such as the palm, and different conditions, like pneumonia.

Reference:

Sarnab Bhattacharya, Mohammad Nikbakht, Alec Alden, Philip Tan, Jieting Wang, Taha A. Alhalimi, Sangjun Kim, Pulin Wang, Hirofumi Tanaka, Animesh Tandon, Edward F. Coyle, Omer T. Inan, Nanshu Lu, Published: 18 April 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202201284.

View the full post Performing Arts need boost to become an economic engine on NOW Grenada.

cutive director for patient-centered outcomes assessment at RTI Health Solutions in North Carolina, and colleagues wrote in a study published in Advances in Therapy. “Treatment with

WHAT DOES A FOOD POLICY HAVE TO DO TO EARN THE TITLE ‘HEALTHY’ AROUND HERE?

Take a dive into some answers to that question!

WHY IS ‘PEOPLE OVER PROFIT’ A STATEMENT WE NEED TO GET BEHIND?

It seems obvious, right? We should always prioritise people over profit!

But in practice, our policymaking doesn’t seem to always live up to that principle, and that lapse is harming us all. Although it’s easy to spout that, “eating healthy is an individual’s responsibility”, how easy is it to make healthy choices in environments designed to push the unhealthy ones?

Healthy Food Policy makes a difference to our food environments; so just how crucial is it to the health of Caribbean people?

HOW CAN YOU MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE?

EVERYONE!

Share these campaign materials with your network so they understand these issues better.

GOVERNMENTS AND POLICYMAKERS!

You have a vital role to play.

• Establish clear guidelines— with transparent rules for public-private engagement and partnerships— to manage conflicts of interest and foster transparency.
• Invest in the implementation and enforcement of policies that are informed by sound, scientific evidence that is free from industry influence and any conflict of interest. Policies like
  • Mandatory front-of-package nutrition warning labels (FOPWL);
  • School environment regulations like regulating the sale and marketing of ultra-processed foods in and around schools;
  • Marketing restrictions, especially to children and adolescents; and
  • Fiscal policies such as a sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) tax

These policies have been endorsed by CARICOM Heads of Government and recommended by WHO/PAHO, CARPHA, UNICEF, HCC, Ministries of Health and other key stakeholders. They’ve also been successfully implemented in several countries trying to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

FOOD INDUSTRY HEADS!

Respect the independence of policymaking processes.

• Focus your efforts on ensuring more products follow national nutrition guidelines (or the PAHO Nutrient Profile Model);
• Quit marketing unhealthy food and drink products to children; and
• Adopt front-of-package warning labels that are backed by sound, international and regional scientific evidence.

CAMPAIGN AT A GLANCE

Launch Date: Monday | 1.MAY.2023

Locale: Regional/Caribbean

Type: Digital Media Campaign

Purpose:

• To advocate, and build support for healthy, evidence-informed food policies.
• To bring awareness to the potential of policy to improve lives through healthier food environments and a reduction in non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
• To highlight the impediments of industry interference and conflict of interest to policy development.

OUR PARTNERS

OTHER CAMPAIGNS

The post People Over Profit appeared first on Healthy Caribbean Coalition.

The hospital building has an area of 748 square meters and has an imaging center, sonography, physiotherapy, laboratory, gynecology, internal medicine, dentistry, pediatrics and pharmacy, 6 general specialty clinics, among other services.

The president was accompanied by the vice-minister of construction of Mived Danny Santos and other representatives of the entity. Santos explained that the health care center had an investment of 121 million pesos in construction and equipment.

He highlighted that the construction of this project was stopped since 2018 (with only 20% of execution) and was resumed in this management to finish its materialization.

Aerial view of the Diagnostic Center in Ciudad Juan BoschMIVED.

He added that the residents of this housing complex “will no longer have to move to another place to receive a quality hospital service” and that “the Dominican government is committed to health, because you, our people, come first.”

On his departure, the first head of state was seen off by community members carrying banners with the phrase “four more.”

The sectors that will mainly benefit from the opening of this Health Center are Las Aguas, La Ureña, Jerusalén, Nuevo Amanecer, Residencial Las Américas, Ciudad Satélite II, Los Paredones, and Paraíso III.

The head of state, together with Mived, delivered around 7 kilometers of asphalted streets and 3.5 kilometers of sidewalks and curbs.

Other activities

Abinader also presided over the inauguration of the new emergency room of the Robert Reid Cabral Children’s Hospital, where he gave instructions for the remodeling of the burn unit of the hospital and the intensive care and pediatric area.

The burn unit will be put out to tender and would be ready between April and May 2024, said the director of the National Health Service (SNS), Mario Lama, who added that the areas currently being refurbished had been abandoned for a decade.

He detailed that the expansion and refurbishment carried out in the Emergency Room is valued at RD$76,523,581.80, which was completely equipped with an amount of RD$13,280,590.29.

In addition, he indicated that the readjustment of the spaces comprising the areas of the emergency office, suit with two cubicles, cure, plaster, nebulization with six stations, pharmacy, observation with 23 compartments (two isolated), waiting room, emergency area with 12 pieces, trauma shock with four cubicles and doctors and nurses station.

Robert Reid Cabral Children’s Hospital Emergency Department

The Robert Reid Cabral emergency room also saw the construction of a front gate, a new ambulance canopy, a perimeter sidewalk, asphalt tarpaulin, exterior painting, and the construction of a gas control booth.

He also inaugurated in Brisas del Este, Los Frailes, 7 kilometers of asphalted streets and 3.5 kilometers of sidewalks and sidewalk repair, construction of scuppers and speed bumps, and painting of streets in this community for a value of RD$220 million.

Luis Abinader greets the students during the event.

The last activity in this area was the delivery of the Basic School Tomas Taveras Educational Center (Mandinga) with a capacity of 980 students and built with an investment of more than RD03 million.

The Minister of Education, Angel Hernandez, spoke of the importance of artificial intelligence in education today and explained that the Ministry of Education would soon launch the Decennial Education Plan which should take into account the changes in technology.

MOST cervical cancers are associated with human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection. Widespread immunization with the HPV vaccine could reduce the impact of cervical cancer and other cancers caused by HPV worldwide.

Here's what you need to know about the HPV vaccine.

What does the HPV vaccine do?

Various strains of HPV spread through sexual contact and are associated with most cases of cervical cancer. Gardasil 9 is an HPV vaccine approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and can be used for both girls and boys.

This vaccine can prevent most cases of cervical cancer if the vaccine is given before girls or women are exposed to the virus. This vaccine can also prevent vaginal and vulvar cancer. In addition, the vaccine can prevent genital warts, anal cancers, and mouth, throat, head and neck cancers in women and men.

In theory, vaccinating boys against the types of HPV associated with cervical cancer might also help protect girls from the virus by possibly decreasing transmission.

Who is the HPV vaccine for and when should it be given?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that the HPV vaccine be given to girls and boys between ages 11 and 12. It can be given as early as age nine. It's ideal for girls and boys to receive the vaccine before they have sexual contact and are exposed to HPV. Research has shown that receiving the vaccine at a young age isn't linked to an earlier start of sexual activity.

Once someone is infected with HPV, the vaccine might not be as effective. Also, response to the vaccine is better at younger ages than it is at older ages.

The CDC recommends that all 11 and 12 year olds receive two doses of HPV vaccine at least six months apart. Younger adolescents ages 9 and 10 and teens ages 13 and 14 also can receive vaccination on the two-dose schedule. Research has shown that the two-dose schedule is effective for children under 15.

Teens and young adults who begin the vaccine series later, at ages 15 through 26, should receive three doses of the vaccine.

The CDC recommends catch-up HPV vaccinations for all people through age 26 who aren't adequately vaccinated.

The US FDA recently approved the use of Gardasil 9 for males and females ages 9 to 45. If you're age 27 to 45, discuss with your doctor whether he or she recommends that you get the HPV vaccine.

Who should not get the HPV vaccine?

The HPV vaccine isn't recommended for pregnant women or people who are moderately or severely ill. Tell your doctor if you have any severe allergies, including an allergy to yeast or latex. Also, if you've had a life-threatening allergic reaction to any component of the vaccine or to a previous dose of the vaccine, you shouldn't get the vaccine.

Does the HPV vaccine offer benefits if you're already sexually active?

Yes. Even if you already have one strain of HPV, you could still benefit from the vaccine because it can protect you from other strains that you don't yet have. However, none of the vaccines can treat an existing HPV infection. The vaccines protect you only from specific strains of HPV you haven't been exposed to already.

Does the HPV vaccine carry any health risks or side effects?

The HPV vaccine has been found to be safe in many studies.

Overall, the effects are usually mild. The most common side effects of HPV vaccines include soreness, swelling or redness at the injection site.

Sometimes dizziness or fainting occurs after the injection. Remaining seated for 15 minutes after the injection can reduce the risk of fainting. Headaches, nausea, vomiting, fatigue or weakness also may occur.

The CDC and the FDA continue to monitor the vaccines for unusual or severe problems.

Do women who've received the HPV vaccine still need to have Pap tests?

Yes. The HPV vaccine isn't intended to replace Pap tests. Routine screening for cervical cancer through regular Pap tests beginning at age 21 remains an essential part of preventive health care.

What can you do to protect yourself from cervical cancer if you're not in the recommended vaccine age group?

HPV spreads through sexual contact — oral, vaginal or anal. To protect yourself from HPV, use a condom every time you have sex. In addition, don't smoke. Smoking raises the risk of cervical cancer.

To detect cervical cancer in the earliest stages, see your doctor for regular Pap tests beginning at age 21. Seek prompt medical attention if you notice any signs or symptoms of cervical cancer — vaginal bleeding after sex, between periods or after menopause, pelvic pain, or pain during sex.

This article was first published on Mayo Clinic and can be accessed at https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hpv-infection/in-depth/hp...

THE Jamaica Cancer Society's primary fund-raiser, Relay for Life, will return this year on Saturday, June 10 after a three-year break.

The event is scheduled for Police Officers' Club in St Andrew starting at 6:00 pm and ending at 6:00 am.

Noting that Jamaica Cancer Society is 68 years old, board director Lincoln Robinson said that for the duration of the organisation's existence it has been at the forefront in the fight against the disease.

"We have been committed to awareness building, screening, advocacy and fund-raising," Robinson said at the recent launch of Relay for Life 2023.

"As we get ready to restart Relay for Life, we invite all Jamaicans to join this noble effort. We're not cancelling and cannot afford to cancel Relay for Life; we must continue. I want to encourage all Jamaica — friends, families at home and abroad and even those in the diaspora to make Relay for Life 2023 the best because this year... marks our 21st staging of this annual event," he said.

The event — which generally includes gathering cancer survivors and their caregivers, family, and friends under the stars to honour loved ones fighting cancer and mourn those who have died — will be held under the theme 'Walking together with hope'.

Guest speaker at the launch, Dunstan Bryan, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, reaffirmed the ministry's commitment to ensuring all Jamaicans have access to the best cancer care.

"I want to take the opportunity to acknowledge what the Jamaica Cancer Society is doing," said Bryan.

"Every diagnosis of cancer is $10 million, and... our trajectory is causing us much concern in the Ministry of Health. There is no public health system that can be able to finance all of what is necessary to treat what is coming to us if we do not pivot to prevention.

"I want to acknowledge that at the Ministry of Health we have not done enough to walk with you, and as permanent secretary, I want to say that we must address this gap. We must walk together, and we must create hope," added Bryan.

The Jamaica Cancer Society says the money raised from the event will be used to offset the costs of screening services for vulnerable men and women, as well as assist with public education programmes and contribute to global cancer research.

The public is encouraged to sign up for the event by calling 876-927-3317 or e-mailing jamaica.cancersociety@gmail.com to participate.