Why the Kurbo controversy matters

An app, licensed by Weight Watchers, promises to help overweight children shed pounds. But the questionable evidence, and potential for harm, is a reminder of the complexity of childhood obesity.

By Amitha Kalaichandran, M.D. — Aug 19, 2019

Last week, the organization formerly known as Weight Watchers (now branded as “WW”) announced they were launching a ‘diet app for kids,’ called Kurbo. Everyone from celebrities like Jameela Jamil, who has been open about her own weight struggles, to dieticians, piped in with concerns. Soon enough, even parents expressed dismay and the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) released a statement warning about the risks of using the app. Then, over the weekend a petition on Change.org gained ground. As of this writing, they are close to 80,000 signatures.

Obesity affects one in six children in the US and 41 million globally. Kurbo was founded several years ago by an earnest entrepreneur and promises to be a convenient ‘weight management coach in your pocket’ for kids. It has also been marketed as a gamification of a reputable ‘analog’ pediatrics weight management program.

In my view, there are three considerable problems with Kurbo that are difficult to reconcile.

The first issue is that, even though Kurbo claims it’s backed by science, this is stretch. As a general rule, if a company says that their product is backed by ‘science’ or ‘evidence,’ and they don’t clearly support this statement with robust…