WW Launched An App For Kids & It’s A PR Nightmare Betches

Weight loss programs and diet plans are absolutely nothing brand-new, however there’s no concern that social networks and web culture have actually pressed the world of weight reduction to brand-new locations. Nowadays, the name of the video game is not weight reduction, however health. Health is a worldwide market worth more than $4 trillion , and business are desperate to stake their claim. While we’ve seen great deals of brand-new business emerging in the wellness area, older business have actually likewise been required to adjust with the times. Go into the business previously called Weight Watchers, who developed some significant debate today when they revealed Kurbo, a brand-new app targeted at teenagers and kids.

Weight Watchers, which rebranded as WW International (Wellness Wins) in 2015 in an objective to focus more on general “health” than strictly weight reduction, has actually been a significant gamer in the weight-loss area for more than 50 years. They got Kurbo in 2018, and after that invested a year making modifications prior to relaunching the app. Amongst the modifications consist of adding what TIME called a “ Snapchat-inspired user interface ,” which actually looks like the visual we need to be opting for with a weight reduction app. Will there be pet ears?

But according to Gary Foster, the chief clinical officer at WW International, it’s not a weight-loss app. He explains Kurbo as “an app that teaches in a game-ified, enjoyable, interesting method what are the fundamentals of a healthy consuming pattern.” Okay, so there’s absolutely nothing incorrect with motivating kids to find out how to consume healthy, however the claim that it’s not a weight-loss app do not truly hold up when you compare Gary Foster’s words with those that come straight from WW. In a main declaration, they state that Kurbo is a “scientifically-proven habits modification program developed to assist teenagers and kids age 8-17 reach a much healthier weight.”

Either I require to return to English class, or “reach a much healthier weight” seems like a very diplomatic method of stating “reduce weight.” Look, I’ve required to reduce weight given that I was roughly 10 years old, so I understand what it seems like when I hear it. The app utilizes a so-called “ traffic signal system ,” in which foods are designated red, yellow, and thumbs-ups. Undoubtedly, things like sweet fall in the traffic signal classification, while fruits and veggies are securely in the green zone. I have not seen the particular standards for this system, and it appears rational enough, however it’s quite humorous to pretend that it wasn’t created with weight-loss in mind.

It looks like Gary Foster may have understood this, since he included that he sees that “there might be some misperception that in some way we’ re stating, All kids ought to drop weight, you’ re not OKAY as you are,’ “and after that he states that the objective is to supply a “affordable, practical” approach for “kids who are attempting to accomplish a much healthier weight.” Soooooo it’s a weight reduction program.

And naturally, individuals are f * cking pissed about this, explaining that diet plans do not work, kids are having body image problems as young as 3 years of ages ( yes ), which total, kids need to not feel forced into looking a particular method.

KURBO.

I believed that I disliked Weight Watchers. I have actually not disliked them as much as I do today.

Making weight-loss fashionable for kids is making the advancement of consuming conditions much easier and trendier. I am not here for this.

— Anna Sweeney MS, CEDRD-S (@DietitianAnna) August 13, 2019

Hey @weightwatchers . Yes, you.