Can AI really estimate calories from food photos with 90% accuracy?

AI In Content Creation Forum
1

I found this claim about AI estimating calories from food images with 90% accuracy, but when I checked the website, there were no citations to back up the claim. It seems a bit hard to believe, but maybe I’m missing something. For people who care a lot about tracking their food intake, like those on keto, even small differences in carbs or calories matter. Does this really seem accurate to anyone else?

2

Welcome to this forum

Guidelines for Technical Discussions

Here are some helpful tips for posting:

  • Posts should have more than 100 characters. The more detail, the better.
  • Always include a direct link to the technical or research information.
  • Share your connection to the information - did you do the research or just find it useful?
  • Provide context and dialogue about the technical content.
  • If there are code repositories or models, be sure to include them.

Thanks for posting! Let the mods know if you have any questions or need help.

3

I really doubt that’s true, especially without any sources cited. Two servings that look almost the same could still have a big difference in calories depending on what’s actually in them. If this was proven true, I’m sure they would provide something more concrete to back it up.

4

@Whit
I bet they cherry-picked easy cases where the calorie count is pretty obvious. But it’s an interesting concept. I’d love to see something like this for making ethical purchasing decisions too. Like scanning a product and finding out if it’s made with something controversial—‘This item was probably made with Xinjiang cotton’ or something.

5

@Whit
It could work if you have a clear reference point for the size of the dish (to estimate the serving size) and a decent image of what the food is. After that, it’s just math, which can be calculated with a tool. You could even compare the image with recipe sites to get a more accurate estimate if you wanted to get fancy.