Technology and Artificial Intelligence in Nutrition in the Philippines
by Dr Frances Gail Turalba (Frontline Gastroenterology Global Taskforce 2025-6)
The Covid 19 Pandemic has taught us that telehealth through technological advance is possible and the landscape of medical consultations has transitioned increasingly further from face-to face consults to telehealth. Even “telenutrition” has emerged as an avenue to reach more patients or clients in need of consultations and nutrition counselling. Kumar and colleagues addressed this somewhat in their systemic review on the limitations in real-world telemonitoring applicability in gastroenterology and hepatology (1). In the area of nutrition support specifically, an interesting publication on the successful implementation of remote video consultations for patients receiving home parenteral nutrition in a UK national centre demonstrated that telemedicine was able to largely replace the need for face to face clinic consultations for Home Parenteral Nutrition-dependent patients, and naturally leading to less travel to maintain follow-up (https://fg.bmj.com/content/11/4/280).
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gained popularity through its increasing contribution to a number of fields from education to marketing, finance to research, and finally healthcare. In the healthcare setting, AI has proven itself particularly useful in helping to optimize patient assessment as well as in disease diagnosis, advantaged by its ability to rapidly scrutinize vast quantities of data. The improvement in performance of clinical tasks, through automation and streamlined workflows provided by AI, has already started to come to the attention of clinicians, and the promise potentially offered through these new technologies to patients is enticing to explore.
Among the Southeast Asian countries, Singapore is probably the leader in AI due to its National AI Strategy 2.0, which is a comprehensive plan on digital transformation with the remit of contributing to AI breakthroughs and products that are projected to be valuable globally. In developing countries such as the Philippines, at present AI has yet to be integrated broadly into health services per se, and has found its place more as a tool in medical (and general scientific) research (although, to a degree in public health).
In the field of nutrition, my own area of subspeciality interest, there is even sparser use still of AI. However, one of the AI-driven projects related to nutrition in the Philippines is the Artificial Intelligence Nutrition Assistant (AINA) spearheaded by the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI). This AI driven project aimed to develop an automated food recognition and dietary assessment mobile application which will enable researchers, nutrition and public health professionals, food production professionals, and other stakeholders to monitor dietary intake and quality.(3). A study published by Javier and colleagues in 2024 illustrated the usefulness of the digitalization of food component forms of the National Nutrition Survey (NNS) and a fully digital dietary survey collection system. This involved the compilation of a mobile household dietary survey data collection system with an AI-based food recognition tool (4).
Another recent example leveraging AI in the area of diet and nutrition is an ongoing joint research project between the Philippines and Taiwan that is due to be completed in 2027. This fascinating project aims to develop an AI model that will cross-reference personal health record data of individuals with chronic diseases with another database containing information on local diet (availability and preferences), with a view to generating a precise analysis and tailored meal plan for the client/patient. Results of this study will help create a mobile application which can be accessed by patients and healthcare practitioners alike, facilitating the ongoing monitoring of nutritional intake by patients over time, and allowing for the provision of further recommendations (5).
Somewhat tangentially, but still addressing the issue of nutrition in the developing Southeast Asian region, this time on a population-level, is an initiative of a non-profit organization operating in the Philippines. In terms of food security, since rice is considered a staple food in the country, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) – an international agricultural research and training organization located in the Philippines – has been attempting to harness AI to improve the production of rice in the country since 2023. Through the integration of AI-based analyses, they have been able to advise on a number of areas of optimization for farmers, such as directing the efficient application of fertilizer through Site-Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM) principles, for instance. Additionally, technology more broadly is being increasingly applied in the agriculture sector in the Philippines, such as through the equipping of drones capable of precision agriculture in crop establishment. Such initiatives have undoubtedly led to an improvement in food (and nutrition) security locally, as well as globally (6).
Although AI has arrived in the Philippines, it is somewhat in its infancy. Its (responsible) use in the field of nutrition, gastroenterology, and medicine overall, and specifically in the clinical/hospital setting, wherein doctors, allied healthcare professionals and patients, stand to gain the most significant benefit, warrants careful expansion going forward.
References
- Kumar A, Gananandan K, Robinson G, et al Limitations in real-world telemonitoring applicability in gastroenterology and hepatology: a systematic review Frontline Gastroenterology 2026;17:19-29.
- Cloutier A, Bond A, Taylor MI, et al Successful implementation of remote video consultations for patients receiving home parenteral nutrition in a national UK Centre Frontline Gastroenterology 2020;11:280-284.
- Accessed from: https://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/heartnovation/aina-artificial-intelligence-nutritionassistant
- Javier et al.: Development of Mobile Dietary Data Collection System. Philippine Journal of Science Vol. 153 No. 5, October 2024
- Accessed from: https://registry.healthresearch.ph/index.php/registry?view=research&layout=details&cid=8651
- Accessed from: https://www.irri.org/news-and-events/news/irri-leveraging-ai-secure-food-and-nutrition-security-current-and-future