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Cited by 4Cancer Risks and FactorsObesity and Health PracticesArtificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education

Public awareness of obesity as a risk factor for cancer in central Saudi Arabia: feasibility of ChatGPT as an educational intervention

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Alanzi, Turki M, Alzahrani, Wala, Albalawi, Nouf S, Allahyani, Taif, Alghamdi, Atheer, Al-Zahrani, ‏Haneen, Almutairi, ‏Awatif, Alzahrani, Hayat +4 more·2023·Cureus
DOI 10.7759/cureus.50781PMC PMC10795720
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: While the link between obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disorders is well-documented, there is a growing body of evidence connecting obesity with an increased risk of cancer. However, public awareness of this connection remains limited. STUDY PURPOSE: To analyze public awareness of overweight/obesity as a risk factor for cancer and analyze public perceptions on the feasibility of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-based conversational agent, as an educational intervention tool. METHODS: A mixed-methods approach including deductive quantitative cross-sectional approach to draw precise conclusions based on empirical evidence on public awareness of the link between obesity and cancer; and inductive qualitative approach to interpret public perceptions on using ChatGPT for creating awareness of obesity, cancer and its risk factors was used in this study. Participants included adult residents in Saudi Arabia. A total of 486 individuals and 21 individuals were included in the survey and semi-structured interviews respectively. RESULTS: About 65% of the participants are not completely aware of cancer and its risk factors. Significant differences in awareness were observed concerning age groups (p < .0001), socio-economic status (p = .041), and regional distribution (p = .0351). A total of 10 themes were analyzed from the interview data, which included four positive factors (accessibility, personalization, cost-effectiveness, anonymity and privacy, multi-language support) and five negative factors (information inaccuracy, lack of emotional intelligence, dependency and overreliance, data privacy and security, and inability to provide physical support or diagnosis). CONCLUSION: This study has underscored the potential of leveraging ChatGPT as a valuable public awareness tool for cancer in Saudi Arabia.

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  • Concerns about misinformation, cultural insensitivity, and overreliance on AI-generated outputs were raised across multiple studies.

    “However, concerns about misinformation, cultural insensitivity, and overreliance on AI-generated outputs were raised across multiple studies [26-28].”

    From Empathic AI for Patient-Centered Cancer Care: A Scoping Review of Patient Navigation, Support, and Clinical Practice (2026) · cites this paper as [28]

    The Results report participants’ concerns about inaccurate information and overreliance on ChatGPT for health advice. They also report that some Arabic responses lacked emotional appeal, but do not report cultural insensitivity as a concern; the Discussion’s references to cultural nuances and culturally sensitive information do not establish that participants raised it. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Cited by

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Authors
Alanzi, T. M., Alzahrani, W., Albalawi, N. S., Allahyani, T., Alghamdi, A., Al-Zahrani, ‏., Almutairi, ‏., Alzahrani, H., Almulhem, L., Alanzi, N., Al Moarfeg, A., & Farhah, ‏.
Affiliations
  • Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (SA)
  • King Abdulaziz University (SA)
  • University of Tabuk (SA)
  • Umm al-Qura University (SA)
  • Taif University (SA)
  • Jouf University (SA)
  • King Faisal University (SA)
  • Saudi Electronic University (SA)
Corresponding author
Alanzi, Turki M
ORCID
Venue
Cureus
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2023-12-19
Volume
15
Issue
12
Pages
e50781-e50781
ISSN
2168-8184 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.7759/cureus.50781
PMC
PMC10795720
OpenAlex
W4389947957
Cited by
4
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 2
FWCI
0.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Cureus (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Risks and Factors
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Obesity and Health Practices
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Health Informatics › Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
Keywords
obesity, cancer risk factors, public awareness, ChatGPT, chatbots, health literacy, Saudi Arabia

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