dear ww, leave the kids alone
If you’re unaware, WW (formerly Weight Watchers) recently released a dieting app called Kurbo for children, starting as young as 8 years old (yes, that’s pre-puberty, people). And I’m pissed. Many are pissed, especially my non-diet dietician friends and therapist friends who work to help people heal from the mess that diet-culture creates. I talked to a mentor of mine on Friday, and she said something that struck me: it’s not like we (*we being the people who stand against diet-culture) have some financial agenda for being against WW/Kurbo— as long as they’re in business we have great job security because we’re always going to have clients coming to us struggling with disordered eating and body image struggles. It’s just so true. But here’s the thing: we’re not concerned about a shortage of clients; we ARE concerned about the wellbeing of our clients. And if our clients are children/teens, we know based on research that Kurbo does NOT have in mind the best interest and wellbeing of children— WW is a company that wants to make a profit, it is a diet disguised as “wellness”, and it is despicable that a company would EVER launch a product like this. It makes my stomach hurt, quite literally.
This app allows children/teens to track food and exercise, and it labels food according to a traffic signal. There are red, yellow, and green light foods. The only foods that are “green light foods” are fruits and vegetables, and skim milk (#gross). Several non-diet dietitians/nutritionists actually recommend full-fat dairy, by the way, because its more satiating, less processed, and, newsflash, FAT IS YOUR FRIEND and your body needs it. And, if you haven’t tried whole milk Greek yogurt…go get you some. So basically, this app encourages and rewards “green light foods”, which means that it rewards restriction and disordered eating.
Teaching kids to label foods as good or bad, teaching them to distrust themselves and what makes them feel good, and shaming them for wanting something that is in the “red light zone” is not okay and this is what this app is doing. It’s also moralizing foods, and according to my knowledge, food as no inherent moral value. Also, according to the research, if a certain food is “off limits” it makes you want it more, it increases cravings. This leads to the restrict/binge cycle and disordered eating. It’s science, yo.
While we may not see a lot of children and teens that have developed full-fledged eating disorders (though we do), we DO see a lot of children and teens struggling with body image, self-worth, and disordered eating habits. An app like Kurbo does NOT and will not change health trajectories, decrease obesity, or make our kids healthier. It will, however, fuel disordered eating patterns, restricted eating, and body shame.
I want to share some statistics with you—because I love statistics and research; I hope that this explains WHY so many of us are outraged by Kurbo/WW:
- 1 out of every 4 people who diet (and yes, this is a diet disguised as wellness), will develop an eating disorder
- Those who dieted moderately were 5X more likely to develop disordered eating, and whose who practiced extreme restriction were 18X more likely to develop an ED than those who did not diet
- The prevalence of eating disorders has more than doubled from 2000-2006 to 2013-2018
- Dieting predicts more weight gain, weight cycling, weight stigma, and fatphobia
Other things that are wrong with this app:
- It targets CHILDREN
- It promotes the idea that food has a moral value
- It promotes the idea that confidence is based on body shape/size
- It promotes the idea that weight is the sole indicator of health
- It promotes the idea that parent’s proudness is derived from accomplishments around weight
- It uses before and after photos
- It makes weight loss trendy
- It promotes the idea that something is “wrong” with kids if their bodies are growing and changing…which THEY NEED TO DO. It’s called GROWTH and DEVELOPMENT
- It targets CHILDREN
Inhale for 5…and exhale it out.
Listen, I totally understand why this app might seem like a solution or a good idea. I also want kids to be healthy and balanced eaters who like fruits and veggies. I want kids to enjoy food, not fear it. When I have kids one day, I want to teach them about nutrition and eating in a way that makes them feel nourished and energized. I am no expert (yet) on how to do this (and Feeding Littles is an awesome Instagram account to follow about it), but what I do know for certain is that a dieting app is the antithesis of the answer. Because when we tell children/teens that they need to change their bodies, we make them feel unworthy and unlovable, like they're not okay as they are. THOSE are the messages that they hear and internalize.
Children and teens don't need a dieting app. They need to know that they are loved and unconditionally accepted, and out of THAT space, they will learn to make food choices that make them feel good.
And also, chronic, long-term stress and anxiety and feelings of unworthiness do much more damage to our health and nervous systems over time than Oreos do, k?!
*insert mic drop*
Let’s teach kids how to be in touch with their bodies and hunger cues, to pay attention to how certain foods make them feel. Let’s teach kids self-respect/self-love, so they don’t have to look to things like a dieting app for assurance that they matter and are “doing good”. Let’s teach kids to play and move in ways that are FUN, instead of self-punishing through exercise. Let’s teach kids about emotional regulation, so they don’t have to turn to food as the only source of comfort or to fill a void. Let’s teach kids that there are SO MANY other/more indicators of health and that the size of their stomach is not one of them. Let’s teach kids how to feel safe in their bodies again, to accept themselves— mind, body, spirit— so that they don’t NEED a “diet”, but instead learn how to eat intuitively and not fear food. Kids need healthy adults, adults who have a healthy relationship to food & with their own bodies. So, adults, let’s work on ourselves, our own habits and patterns; let’s be aware of our conversations about our own bodies and the foods we eat, so we can be a good example for kids (because they’re watching).
WW leave the kids alone— dieting is a fast track for eating disorders. How dare you target kids! How dare you be so conniving and manipulative! *Insert, me giving WW/Kurbo a middle-finger.