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Calorie counting apps accused of encouraging eating disorders

DCUK NewsBot

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Eating disorder experts have slammed the developers of calorie counting apps which they say are exacerbating unhealthy food behaviours. A BBC investigation found evidence that people have been entering harmful comments promoting dangerous eating cycles on apps like MyFitnessPal, Lose It! and Lifesum. Comments, such as, "I hate myself", "starved", "I overate" and "failure, fatty" were found, which eating disorder charity Beat said were concerning. Tom Quinn, of the organisation, said: "Many people with eating disorders count calories or track weight loss to the point of obsession, and such apps can facilitate or exacerbate such behaviours and make recovery harder. "The apps should ensure people are directed to discuss their purchase or use with a medical professional if they have a history of an eating disorder." Jack Henderson from Newport, Telford told the BBC that using an app to count calories helped his eating disorder to "spiral". The 21-year-old said: "I would only pick foods that I could input in to MyFitnessPal. I'd avoid homemade stuff. I would only pick packaged stuff I could input in to the app. "Even when I had a binge, a big loss of control, I logged it as best I could... it really fed in to this false warped illusion of control that I was in control - but it was controlling me." In response, MyFitnessPal said it has now removed any comments deemed to be unhealthy and have pledged to monitor entries more closely in the future. A spokesperson said: "Users attempting to sign up with a goal weight that will put their BMI under 18.5 are redirected to a weight gain or maintenance goal." Lose It! has now closed down several community groups which violated its rules about healthy eating and a Lifesum spokesperson said: "Offering support is more constructive than banning users."

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I contend that the encouragement of eating behaviours promulgated by courses like DAFNE also need examination in this regard.
 
@kitedoc I thought DAFNE was a British course. Do you have personal experience of DAFNE from which you are drawing your conclusions. Or are you speculating based on your understanding of "Normal Eating"?
My personal experience was very good. The course discussed various diets and considerations with respect to type 1 diabetes. And the overall message was a balanced life with type 1 and not letting it take over any part of it.
 
I’m not sure it’s fair to lay the burden of blame entirely at the developers’ doorsteps. They’re in the business of designing software that people want, and there’s a reason that those people want these apps. Perhaps we’d be better off wagging the finger at governments around the globe who perpetuate the idea that obesity is all about CICO (calories in calories out).
 
As long as there is someone else to blame, we can’t have anyone being forced to take any personal responsibility.
 
As far as I am concerned, yes, of course, any app could help someone control their eating more than if they didn't have it, but I will also content that of someone is in the grasp of an eating disorder, then they will progress their objectives, with or without a tool that basically just adds up.

Whilst some people find some ways of eating lead to increased risk of over-eating or binging, it could be argued that the reduction in hunger that many experience when adopting a LC style of eating could also be unhelpful to those who are in the grasp of an eating disorder.

This is just yet another example of why there is rarely a single solution to complex and personalised issues - whether an eating disorder, diabetes, IBS or anxiety - just to name a few.
 
kitedoc said:
I contend that the encouragement of eating behaviours promulgated by courses like DAFNE also need examination in this regard.
Click to expand...
Sadly you have fallen into an all to familiar trap
You have focused on the ......NE...of DAFNE and not the ......DA.....dose adjustment.
DAFNE is a tool and not a dietary plan or regime. It is purely a means of adjusting your insulin requirements as a type 1 diabetic to match your diet in order to achieve better blood glucose control.
DAFNE can be used for any diet, whether it be Eatwell plate, vegetarian, carnivore, low carb, high protein or that diet you obviously struggle with....normal.
Perhaps an acceptance that everybody’s diet is normal to them as individuals would help. Too many people follow a dietary regime that they believe makes them special.
 
When I did DAFNE waaaay back in 2008, they specifically told us that it was a method to Adjust Doses for whatever we chose to eat. Whether that was no carbs, all the carbs or somewhere in between. No matter your carb intake, the principles are the same - it’s how to use insulin to suit your chosen lifestyle.
 
@kitedoc are you confusing DESMOND and the like with DAFNE?

I see the article as again trying to stop people getting accurate information on what they are eating and its composition. They want us eating what we are told to eat, with no questions asked, and no information. The same as not funding most type 2 having test strips.
 
To answer some genuine queries and some aimed at my understanding and integrity:
1) DAFNE is alive and well in Oz, i have been through it and discussed it with many participants over the years
2) i have witnessed first hand some of the negative effects on BSLs, and eating behaviours of this course and in particular the mantra and rationale of some of its participants, eat what you like, because you can dose dose for that with insulin
3) if people perceive the above as a parsonal attack, that is their perception, not mine or my intention
4) it is principally because of 2) above that i suggested in my poost above that a study of the potential effects of DAFNE on eating behaviour be instigated.
 
Its good that these app creators have listened.
Weight loss aids will always be abused, like anything else but we have to watch out for a nanny state.
It boils down to our own convictions in the end.
No one forces the food in our mouths. If appa could solve obesity or bad eating habits then we would sit back and not make any effort or thought into future healthy eating plans.
I stopped using myfitness because it was warning I was too low carb and high fat but that was the diet I needed to achieve, at the time. It was right to warn me but it put me off losing. Nhs dieticians too after consultant calling it a fad diet. With insulin therapy it's only been tested on a balanced diet. Approved that way too. I was on shaky grounds being a type2 and highly insulin resistant. Injecting insulin in on a lchf diet can be very dangerous if not done properly. Fat slows down digestion but food still gets digested.
I'm very confident on insulin but even i wouldn't jump into lchf just after a Roux-en-y operation and these apps don't know everyone's personal health status.
I was just interested in a keeping hydrated one resently but it would stretch my new stomach so it got ignored or soon to be removed. It's a good reminder to drink water though.
Ive never been a big water drinker but my kidneys are exceptionally good. They may have taken a knocking recently with dyes and strong meds. So back to flushing them with water.
 

Ickihun, DCUK NewsBot is a Bot, so won't be making replies any time soon, and unlikely to be reading any either.

Of course, we can respond and talk to one another, but just clarifying.
 
@kitedoc .
Irrespective of the mantra and rationale of DAFNE as you perceive it the fact still remains that the program gives no dietary advice.
If an individual chooses to consume 500g carbs daily, then that is the individuals choice.
DAFNE helps the individual to dose insulin correctly for the individuals diet.
If people are unable to make their own decisions about sensible diets then that is not the fault of DAFNE.

It would seem the biggest problem you have with DAFNE is the fact it isn’t dietary specific.
I strongly suspect if DAFNE was aimed solely at those wishing to follow a LCHF diet you would be advocating it at every opportunity.
Bernstein works for you. DAFNE works just as well for me.
 
Is there any danger we could keep this thread on-track, which is calorie counting apps being used by folks to manage their diets in a harmful way.

Thank you
 
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