Won’t somebody please think of the children?

The new kids’ health app causing serious public debate

As someone who grew up in the dance industry, I was constantly being measured, told how to look, and what to eat. I felt as though I was nothing more than a number, and it has taken me years of struggle (and a lot of Lizzo) to finally be content and happy within myself. I had so many friends who fought eating disorders for much of their lives and still, even today, have such unhealthy relationships with food and with themselves.

That’s why when I found out that WW (the company formerly known as Weight Watchers) had released a weight loss app targeted at kids called Kurbo Health, I thought it was a joke.

No, your eyes do not deceive you. Weight Watchers has released a weight loss app targeted at kids from as young a six (6!!!) years old, and their purported intentions are nothing more than helping to fix childhood obesity. The app claims to use a scientifically-proven ‘traffic-light’ system that categorises different foods into red, yellow, and green.

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Here are some of the foods that fall into each category:

Green: most fruits and veggies

Yellow: lean proteins like skinless chicken breast, fish, beans, eggs, and wholegrains

Red: low fat vanilla yogurt, 2% milk, apple juice, almonds, peanut butter, bread, avocados and other ‘fatty or sugary’ foods

Take a second to process that.

Really take a second.

Now allow me to relay some facts.

Youth growth spurts usually happen between age 8 to 13 in girls and 10 to 15 in boys. Menstruation begins on average between the ages of 11 and 14. Bone growth continues to develop until age 25. Since the release of this app, countless dieticians and nutritionists have come forward to warn parents not to let their kids register.

Julie Rothenberg, a well-known dietician and registered nutritionist specialising in eating disorder recovery, has been very vocal about the effect that diets such as these can have on young people.

“The physical damages of dieting in children include delays in growth, hormone production, reproductive organs and bone density. Not to mention their body image and overall relationship with food.”

- Julie Rothenberg

Here is a (now deleted) screenshot I took of a photo from the Kurbo Health app Instagram account of a ‘before and after’ shot of a seven (7!!!) year old girl.

At that age, Kacie is unlikely to have hit puberty yet and her body is still growing and changing as all children’s bodies do. WW were using this and other ‘before and after’ images to promote their app and have since deleted the promotions following mass criticism from dietitians and parents alike.

Some studies have even found that diets do not directly correlate with losing weight and that an unhealthy restriction of food can actually produce the opposite effect. A study in 2003 found that kids who dieted frequently were up to 12 times more likely to report binge eating, compared to their non-dieting counterparts. The data also suggested that for many adolescents, dieting to control weight is not only ineffective, but it may actually promote weight gain.

So, I want to know why WW has decided to release this app. Kurbo Health is not cheap, at $69 a month. Is it to create lifelong customers? Keep track of our data? Reduce us and our children to nothing more than a paycheck, without caring about the potential repercussions?

The Quantified Self (QS) is a term used to define the tracking of ourselves to find personal meaning in our own data. The concept was founded by Gary Wolf and Kevin Kelly in 2007 to explore how the tools we use to track ourselves can help us gain a deeper understanding of who we are. From the beginning of time, humans have been measuring, counting, and weighing themselves. With the introduction of quantified tracking devices like Fitbits, Apple Watches, and Garmins, it is now easier than ever to collect and store this information. I could look down at my watch right now and tell you that my current heart rate is 81 beats per minute and that I have walked 3,879 steps today (I know it’s way under average, but I’ve been researching and writing this article all day so leave me alone).

I don’t believe it is fair or ethical to expect children as young as six years old to care about tracking themselves and their data when they are just trying to enjoy their childhood. Apps like Kurbo Health take the onus off other factors that can influence a child’s overall lifestyle (in particular, their parents) and put the quantified blame back onto the child.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), actions to prevent childhood obesity need to be taken in multiple settings and incorporate a variety of approaches. Sustained interventions into healthy eating and exercise are required at several levels including government, schools, communities, and in particular, families. A child’s health is almost directly influenced by their parents, especially if they aren’t leading a balanced lifestyle by example and the WHO encourages parental figures to incorporate these habits on a daily basis. They also note that while no single intervention is likely to prevent childhood obesity completely, a supportive environment on multiple levels can bring us closer to this goal.

While the intentions of WW and Kurbo Health may or may not be purely aimed at preventing childhood obesity, there are other more important factors that should be taken into consideration. Numerous studies have shown that this kind of diet can cause developmental and physical delays to a child’s growth, particularly during puberty. I say we put a stop to the ‘traffic light’ system and start encouraging kids to form a healthy relationship with food. Children should be allowed to live their lives without the need to be quantified or reduced to a number, how I often felt growing up in the dance industry. I guess what I am really trying to say is:

Let the kids be kids goddamnit.