New York, Jan 8 (TIWN) US researchers have developed a chatbot that may help reduce the likelihood a person develops an eating disorder.

According to Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft, Assistant Professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, digital prevention programmes could be more effective when guided by a human moderator.  The team developed a chatbot that offered "some aspects of moderation in an automated format", Fitzsimmons-Craft was quoted as saying.  Participants in the study could use the chatbot through texts or through Facebook Messenger.  The study recruited female participants through online ads, fliers, and the national eating disorder association online eating disorder screening test.  Women who did not have an active eating disorder but had risk factors for one, like negative body image or excessive concern about their weight, were randomly assigned to either engage with the chatbot or sit on a waitlist.  The chatbot offered eight conversations about topics around body image and healthy eating, and women who used the bot were encouraged to have two of the conversations each week.