by Fitness apps that pursue meals and movement could increase the risk of eating disorders, according to a study
Researchers have discovered “worrying” connections between health and fitness tracking technology and disordered food, concerns about body image and excessive movement.
Diet and fitness apps are popular ways to monitor and enable a healthy lifestyle. They are used by more than 300 million people worldwide.
Scientists from Flinders University in Australia checked 38 studies and found that people who regularly use health and fitness apps have more likely to have problematic habits in terms of food and exercise.
“We found that young adults who use diet and fitness apps have larger nutritional symptoms such as harmful or restrictive nutrition and, compared to those who do not use, have negative thoughts about the body image,” said Isabella Anderberg, a doctoral student Isabella Anderberg, a doctoral student with flass.
“The focus on dietary restrictions and weight loss in these apps can work in restrictive or excessive behaviors that cause concerns for those who already have existing concerns about their weight or body image.
“Young people are vulnerable”
“While some users reported positive experiences such as greater awareness and motivation, the broader effects on mental health must be carefully taken into account, especially for population groups such as young people in need of protection.”
In the study, every previous study in a category was either a fitness tracking app, an app app, an app, an app that combines both fitness, diet and an app that contains both diet and fitness.
Myfitnespal, which has around 200 million users worldwide and offers both diet and fitness monitoring, was so often in the literature that it had its own category.
Data show that 71 percent of the people who used this app stated that Myfitnespal at least contributed to their eating disorder.
“On the whole, the results suggest that both diet and fitness apps can be associated with various disordered essctomology,” the study said.
The authors add that fitness and diet apps are generally used by people with eating disorders or exercise problems to help them maintain problematic behavior.
The scientists also emphasized the responsibility that the app developers have designed apps in order to take into account the psychological effects.
Ms. Anderberg said: “Diet and fitness apps are marketed as tools to improve health. However, they may also have unintentional negative consequences, e.g. B. pressure to achieve goals, to achieve concerns about the body image and to provoke guilt if the goals are not achieved.
“Harmful to some”
“Although there are indications that these tools can be effective when increasing physical activity, we are interested to understand whether these apps are actually harmful to some users.”
Professor Ivanka Prichard, the high -ranking author of the study, says that if more people turn to health and well -being apps, you should ensure that you also prioritize mental health.
She said: “Our results underline how important it is to promote a healthy body image and training behavior in young adults and to be aware of the potential risks that are connected to the use of nutrition and fitness apps, and that users are focusing on improving their health.
“In a growing world of technology, such studies are important for the design of future research results in order to offer the broader population the best health and self-administration information.”
The Flinder team says that more research is necessary to understand the advantages and risks related to these apps.
Ms. Anderberg added: “Since self-monitoring technology develops and new apps for diet and fitness apps are published, it is crucial that research continues to investigate potential advantages and unintentional consequences associated with their use.”
The study is published in the Journal Body Image. Myfitnespal was addressed for a comment.
