Digital twin-supported behavioral intention in mothers of young children to prevent childhood obesity: a…

AI / informaticsFrontiers in artificial intelligence· 2026

Digital twin-supported behavioral intention in mothers of young children to prevent childhood obesity: a large language model-based intervention study.

Kenji Nakamura, Genki Shinoda, Aoi Noda … Yoshiaki Ohyama

Pediatric Gastroenterology & NutritionAI / informaticsQ1IF 7.8

Fine-tuned LLM gave far more appropriate nutrition answers than off-the-shelf model

Digital twin-supported behavioral intention in mothers of young children to prevent childhood obesity: a large language model-based intervention study.

Kenji Nakamura … Yoshiaki Ohyama

Frontiers in artificial intelligence · 2026

Background

Childhood obesity is a major determinant of lifelong non-communicable disease risk, yet early intervention may modify this trajectory.

Methods

The digital twin adopted a published Tohoku Medical Megabank Birth and Three-Generation cohort model predicting overweight risk at 36-47 months, 6 years, 11 years, and 14 years.

n = 121 women

Results

fine-tuned model gave appropriate nutrition answers far more often than off-the-shelf

18approp

Off-the-shelf Llama 3-

27approp

Fine-tuned model

More results

The digital-twin visualization and chat consultation were rated highly for clarity, perceived value, behavioral intention, and willingness to continue, with core-item means above 4.9 on a five-point scale.

Thematic analysis showed that 112 of 121 participants perceived the recommended lifestyle changes as feasible and achievable gradually.

More results

DISCUSSION: The integrated intervention demonstrated preliminary operational feasibility and acceptability.

Individualized future-risk visualization combined with supportive conversational guidance was associated with high self-reported behavioral intention.

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Conclusion

Controlled and longitudinal studies are required to determine whether these preliminary motivational responses translate into sustained behavior change and improved health outcomes.