That Fun Nutrition App May Also Have a Dark Side - Newser

Brightly colored engagement tactics—trophies, confetti, a green light—long ago jumped from smartphone games to everything from online shopping to sports betting and classrooms. So it should come as no surprise that many nutrition-tracking apps, like MyFitnessPal and Noom, also use gaming features to keep users coming back. But as nutrition apps proliferate, some researchers are raising alarms that gamification features may do more harm than good for some people, per the AP. Psychologist Isabella Anderberg, of Australia's Flinders University, says calorie tracking can reinforce behaviors associated with body dysmorphia and disordered eating. "Not everyone's going to experience harm from using the apps, but there are certainly factors that might increase risk," she notes. "Approach with caution." Health professionals she interviewed during her research report that apps can be especially helpful as meal-planning tools for people managing chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, while physical-activity apps remind people to move their bodies. Many users report enjoying them, finding tactics like streak notifications to be motivating. However, behavioral psychologist Courtney Simpson says some apps encourage people to set calorie goals that are far too low for any adult—which is not only unhealthy but can set people up for failure. The gaming features keep people coming back to unrealistic goals, creating shame that may contribute to binge eating or other behaviors people are trying to change, Simpson says. "It's not that gamification itself is bad. It's about what it is promoting," she noted. "Is that actually going to be beneficial?" Anderberg adds that people who already believe thinner is better are more likely to misuse the apps; calorie tracking can then become obsessional, which creates more negative feelings when daily goals aren't met. She urges users to be skeptical of what the apps tell them to do and instead rely on their own intuition: If you feel the need to rest, nurse an injury, or treat yourself to something yummy, do so. "We are ... losing that ability to read our body cues," she says. Simpson notes that focusing on weight as a measure of overall health, besides being inaccurate, makes it more likely to lose and regain weight, with such cycling linked to worse health outcomes. "If you really want lasting change, then you need to be doing behaviors that are feasible and sustainable for you over time," she says. MyFitnessPal and Noom didn't respond to several requests for comment. More here.