@ NCEP: Weight Watchers new app for KIDS

[pugz]

I am FUMING! This is so dangerous and harmful. Making money off of kids! If you have a min can you tweet/FB/IG at them? Tag Oprah too since she is their spokeswoman 😒

people.com/health/ww-launching-kids-teens-weight-loss-program/

Here is the AAP with ACTUAL RESEARCH about how harmful this shit is

www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/Pressure-to-Diet-in-Teens-Can-Lead-to-a-Cycle-of-Dieting-Stigma-in-Adulthood.aspx

[Deleted]

I did Weight Watchers for the first time when I was 10. GUESS WHO’S BEEN OBESE HER WHOLE ADULT LIFE? I think my mom meant well when she signed me up, lo those 27 years ago. But knowing what we know now about dieting and its long-term effects ok weight? I am pretty sure I’d probably still be an overweight adult, but I seriously doubt I’d be as heavy as I am if I hadn’t started this shit at 10 fucking years old.

[winecat]

You've got to be fucking kidding me. Burn this shit down.

[winecat]

@angryharpy- It wasn't WW but I went on my first diet at age 10 too. It's so fucking messed up.

[pugz]

Twitter hashtag

[AJL]

This is fucked up. NO ONE needs to be subject to the damage diet culture does, especially not children.

[wanderingback]

That is insane. Unless a child has certain medical conditions tracking food diligently should not be a thing! Especially not under the title "weight watchers.”

[Michelle]

i hate the idea of kids tracking their WEIGHT. Or even calorie counting.

I do, however, see some value in tracking power foods to make sure you get enough power foods in your diet that feed your health and reduce inflammation, balance your sugars, etc, particularly for kids who don't like fruit or vegetables or are at family risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

I have taught my daughter it is more important to be strong than worry about a certain weight, but she has seen me blow up in my weight (i am size 2-3x) because of metabolism changes, thyroid inactivity and and development of Type 2 diabetes, which i'm currently fighting. She was over 10 lbs when she was born and is at risk of following in my path. She asked me if she will get heavy like me and i told her that she is at highest risk for doing so if she consumes a large amount of sugar and doesn't exercise, and that the worst things about me being heavy are not how i look, but that i can't do everything i want to do like go hiking for 6 hours. If i were leaner and stronger i could do that more easily - that is the message i am sending.

So when she has a craving for something sweet, I ask her if she has had any fruit yet that day or any veggies. We don't forbid cookies or junk food in the house, but i am trying to teach her to feed her body the healthy stuff first and if she is still craving the dessert or chips or whatever after that, to go for it.

If there was an app where she tracked that she got the foods that feed positive growth like veggies and fruits and proteins and that pushed her to drink more water, I think that would be a positive way to make sure she was feeding her body enough of the good stuff - filling up her fuel tank.

Everything i have been learning about obesity is that is triggered by insulin resistance and inflammation - so i am trying to teach her how to regulate that for health, rather than focusing on weight, size, etc.

[lucybrown]

@@@

Complete bullshit. My mom put me on my first diet at 11 and I'm pretty sure it fucked me up forever.

Semi-related, my 8 yo started ADHD meds earlier this year and we're struggling with her losing weight. When the doctor said she wanted her to be gaining weight, DD freaked out and yelled, "Noooo. But then I'll be HEAVY. That's BAD. I'll get a heart disease and DIE." She was 7 fucking years old and had already internalized these messages about weight. Never mind that she's rail thin and hardly eats as it is.

I know WW works well for a lot of people, but fuck them.

[pixy0stix]

This is so beyond fucked up.

[GilliC]

In the program, kids 8 and up are taught to choose foods using the Traffic Light System — vegetables and fruits are all considered good choices, and colored green; yellow foods like lean proteins, whole grains and dairy are to be eaten mindfully and desserts and soda are red foods that should be limited.



Along with checking to see what colors their foods are, kids and teens are taught portion sizes and chat regularly with their coach.

I kind of hate the people for selling this to WW. I absolutely don't condone dieting for kids, but I do feel like there's some value in consciously considering food choices and especially in understanding realistic portion sizes. So many restaurant servings and fast-food "meals" are well beyond what a person needs to eat. Combined with the clear-your-plate guilt I grew up with, I was well into adulthood before I started to seriously question how much I was eating.

However, it should not happen under the Weight Watchers branding, and it should not only be targeted at kids who think they're overweight. I was never overweight as a kid, but I gained a ton as soon as I was out on my own, because I had never really learned to be mindful of my choices and portion sizes.

And I hate the name Kurbo. Is it supposed to sound like "curb your appetite" or "curb your eating?" Because it does, and it's awful.

I guess I basically hate this all around and just wish we would do a better job in health education to teach the relevant information to all kids.

[pugz]

Oh lucybrown that breaks my heart what your daughter said 😭

[lessel]

Aug 14, 2019 10:48:03 GMT -5 GilliC said:

And I hate the name Kurbo. Is it supposed to sound like "curb your appetite" or "curb your eating?" Because it does, and it's awful.

I'm full of rage about this as a kid who was put on diets, but this also stood out to me as well. The subliminal message here is real strong and just fucking terrible.

[lessel]

FUCKING BURN IT DOWN. The website has before/after photos of children. They're making me tear up.

[rebneen]

I also recall my first diet(s) being when I was a preteen. I'm obese as an adult. This is bullshit and a completely inappropriate way to accomplish anything positive.

If they really want to help kids/the childhood obesity epidemic, they have options. Oprah owns the damn company - so use that power and influence with the brand name to go in and sell a curriculum or do an assembly for schools. They could still make money off kids 🙄 And then for good measure (because kids aren't 100% responsible for all the food choices they make), make the content available and accessible and somehow incentivized for parents to see and use as well.

[Patsy Baloney]

@@@

I will absolutely cop to really struggling with stuff like this with my daughter. I grew up obese and have remained obese all of my adult life. I've had some successes in losing weight - I was having some major health struggles in my early 20s due to weight and have, thankfully, been successful in sort of reining it in and continually work on moving out of the obese and unhealthy category - but I'm still obese. I really, really don't want that for my children, and, though her pediatrician acknowledges DD's health at her weight, I worry about tipping into that unhealthy side.

I worry that apps like this target people like me, those with real fear about the health and wellness of their children and no way to teach kids to feed and treat their bodies in healthful ways because there is no personal success as a frame of reference as a parent. I can't help my kid with exercise, because I can't help myself. I can't help my kid with eating well, because I can't help myself, etc.

Is there a way to harness and disseminate information for helping a kid be as healthy as possible without a weight loss component? Is there an app for that?

ETA - I would also worry about my son, but he's still an infant, so it's on the worry back burner, lol

[pugz]

Aug 14, 2019 11:33:05 GMT -5 lessel said:

FUCKING BURN IT DOWN. The website has before/after photos of children. They're making me tear up.

Oh my god. I have a rage headache 😡

[nessness]

Aug 14, 2019 11:33:05 GMT -5 lessel said:

FUCKING BURN IT DOWN. The website has before/after photos of children. They're making me tear up.

Oh man. I absolutely think kids need more education on nutrition, and I'm not necessarily opposed to the traffic light system - it's basically the same thing I do when I tell my kids "no, you can't have a popsicle because you've already had enough treats today; have an apple instead if you're hungry."

But marketing it as a weight loss program for kids, complete with before and after photos? Disgusting.

[lessel]

Aug 14, 2019 13:03:45 GMT -5 nessness said:

Aug 14, 2019 11:33:05 GMT -5 lessel said:

FUCKING BURN IT DOWN. The website has before/after photos of children. They're making me tear up.

Oh man. I absolutely think kids need more education on nutrition, and I'm not necessarily opposed to the traffic light system - it's basically the same thing I do when I tell my kids "no, you can't have a popsicle because you've already had enough treats today; have an apple instead if you're hungry."

But marketing it as a weight loss program for kids, complete with before and after photos? Disgusting.

Agree. I'm trying to parent very differently around food than my mom did with me. 

The 'then/now' photos are just beyond the pale though. "[Kid name], 8, reduced BMI percentile 11 points." EIGHT YEARS OLD. 

[jigsy]

I started my first "diet" at 11 - through it wasn't a diet, it was me not eating "bad" food. I was fully into my eating disorder by 15 because once you start labeling some food as "bad" it slowly starts to get where all food is "bad". The kicker is that I was never "overweight" I was just shaped differently than all my peers, but that was never addressed...but, the dysmorphia, the issues with food, all of it doesn't go away just because you learn the truth.

This is just the same shit, packaged as a "lifestyle" instead of a "diet"

[longtimenopost]

Aug 14, 2019 9:32:21 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

I did Weight Watchers for the first time when I was 10. GUESS WHO’S BEEN OBESE HER WHOLE ADULT LIFE? I think my mom meant well when she signed me up, lo those 27 years ago. But knowing what we know now about dieting and its long-term effects ok weight? I am pretty sure I’d probably still be an overweight adult, but I seriously doubt I’d be as heavy as I am if I hadn’t started this shit at 10 fucking years old.

co-signed. I was 11, and I became heavy after years of using prednisone to control asthma. What I needed was to learn how to feel hungry and full again, not count points. The problem is, it worked and I lost 50 lbs before I started high school - I have been trying to repeat the results ever since. My high school and college years were riddled with disordered eating and a full on eating disorder.

[secretlyevil]

No, this is utterly horrible. HELL NO.

[winecat]

Aug 14, 2019 11:33:05 GMT -5 lessel said:

FUCKING BURN IT DOWN. The website has before/after photos of children. They're making me tear up.

They have an 8 year old girl! 8! Fucking Weight Watchers.

[notsopicky]

Add me to the "started on diets at 14" by a DOCTOR. Shakes for breakfast and lunch, followed by chicken and green beans for dinner. Legit true story. No wonder I have the problems with weight that I have. JFC.

WW, you are GROSS and SHAMEFUL.

[lucybrown]

Aug 14, 2019 11:12:39 GMT -5 pugz said:

Oh lucybrown that breaks my heart what your daughter said 😭

Right?  We are really conscious of our language and behavior modeled at home, but far from perfect. Most of this talk started with the Jump Rope for Heart program.  The messages and/or heavy marketing in our school are side-eye worthy.  She and her friends have been obsessed with exercise, low sugar, and low fat ever since.  It takes a lot of effort to try to counter these messages with healthier ones. 

Our pedi did a fantastic job of talking to her about why growing children need to gain weight, showing her the growth chart curve/line, and how her appetite is suppressed due to the medication.  We have kept the messages consistent at home and she's doing better.  I didn't anticipate it being so damn hard at such a young age. 

Edited for grammar

[gault]

Kiddie fat seminars at 9 here.

This is pretty terrifying.

[suburbanzookeeper]

Aug 14, 2019 15:51:42 GMT -5 lucybrown said:

Aug 14, 2019 11:12:39 GMT -5 pugz said:

Oh lucybrown that breaks my heart what your daughter said 😭

Right?  We are really conscious of our language and behavior modeled at home, but far from perfect. Most of this talk started with the Jump Rope for Heart program.  The messages and/or heavy marketing in our school are side-eye worthy.  She and her friends have been obsessed with exercise, low sugar, and low fat ever since.  It takes a lot of effort to try to counter these messages with healthier ones. 

Our pedi did a fantastic job of talking to her about why growing children need to gain weight, showing her the growth chart curve/line, and how her appetite is suppressed due to the medication.  We have kept the messages consistent at home and she's doing better.  I didn't anticipate it being so damn hard at such a young age. 

Edited for grammar

We had the same experience and have been working to counter balance what she was given/told through this program. 

[pugz]

Make sure you hop on twitter if you can! #WakeUpWeightWatchers is trending!

[followyourarrow]

My mom had me start diet shakes when I was 11, at the suggestion of the school secretary who was selling them (MLM). A shake for breakfast, supposed to be a shake for lunch, but eat a regular school lunch because it would be embarrassing to have a diet shake at school, so the other shake at dinner. After that it was skip breakfast, wait no, skipping breakfast isn't healthy, so eat a low fat yogurt, on and on. All it did was lead me to hide my eating and become a binge eater. My senior year the school (private, evangelical) started some weight loss program for students and parents, because GOD doesn't want you to be fat.

All of this to say that I'm angry that WW is doing this and it's only going to cause more problems for kids.

[wanderlustmom]

I think it’s terrible. All research shows diets don’t work for anyone and especially not children. I read the book Intuitive Eating and got rid of my scale a few months ago. I’ve vowed to never diet again, not even weight watchers and I’m much happier.