Kurbo The Food Tracking App

A New App That's Designed To Track What Kids Eat Is Making Some People Mad As Hell

WW, or Weight Watchers, caused quite the stir online this week when it launched a new program called Kurbo. The purpose? For kids 8-17 to track their food in order to reach a "healthier weight." People are not happy about it.

The way it works is kids or their guardians can log each food they eat, and it's given a rating of green (good to eat often), yellow (should be eaten less often), and red (should be gradually reduced).

Kurbo's site allows kids to access online coaches who provide "personalized tips and encouragement" as wells as tips for mindfulness and meditation. The app also includes streaks to track usage, similar to those used on Snapchat, and goals, including losing weight. In a press release, WW said that the purpose of the app is to encourage healthy habits.

"At WW, we have decades of expertise in scaling science-backed behavior change programs, uniquely positioning us to be a part of the solution to address the prevalent public health problem of childhood obesity," said Foster from WW "Alongside a distinguished group of leaders in pediatric health and nutrition, we've carefully developed this platform to be holistic, rewarding, and inspirational so kids, teens, and families get the tools and guidance they need to manage their environment and build and sustain healthy habits."

But many people are not only not convinced that the app is helpful, they've taken WW to task for encouraging kids to track their food at a young age, something that many have said can lead to disordered eating.