Weight Watchers, or WW as their new branding suggests, recently launched an app called Kurbo for children to track their diet and activity. At first glance, I didn't see anything wrong with this app. It seemed to encourage kids to eat healthily and exercise. My concerns were quite low until I saw that there was a spot for a goal to lose weight, and you can rank it on how important it is to you. Based on your input, WW will suggest how you can lose weight.
See how this is a problem?
The app is specifically designed for kids as young as 8 years old.
The app treats weight loss like a game using a stoplight system. Green means go. Yellow means proceed with caution. Red means don't eat this food. Kids, even kids struggling with their weight and body image, should not be viewing food this way.
I remember feeling insecure about my body as a kid. It even got to the point where I wanted to stop eating. However, I knew that this was unhealthy and that I'm just a kid. My doctor never told me to lose weight. I was active and felt good. I made a decision to not worry about my weight.
I'm very grateful that I made this decision and decided to live a carefree childhood. However, kids these days aren't so lucky. With an app like Kurbo at their fingertips (literally), kids can decide to lose weight just like that.
Without a real understanding of healthy attitudes towards weight, kids can spiral downward quickly.
Yes, Kurbo has coaching (for an extra fee of $69 per month) so WW can make sure that kids are losing weight in a healthy way. The kids who can't afford the coaching are just out of luck. They're stuck figuring things out on their own and perhaps losing weight too quickly.
As a future doctor, I understand that obesity is an epidemic in America. However, kids are being shamed for their weight at such a young age — this can't be good for their mental health. I am a firm believer in doctor-monitored weight loss. For the kids who can't, though, Kurbo is an easy way out. It's not a good one.
You might be wondering what makes this different from food-tracking apps. I have a Fitbit that tracks my steps and activity. There is an option to log food and weight. The main focus of this app is not weight. I don't have to log my weight or my food, and it doesn't yell at me if I eat less nutritious food.
Despite Weight Watchers' rebranding, WW is spiraling out of control. I know Weight Watchers works for people, and for the people who are under the supervision of a doctor and use it, it's a pretty good system. Why target kids?
This isn't healthy. It's a diet masked as wellness.
