If this app was truthfully named it’d be ‘Get em when they’re young and they’ll be customers for life’

The moment she mentioned that the delicious greek yogurt w banana and sourdough toast would get multiple "bad" strikes, I had a lightbulb moment of why I felt terrible every time I tried an app to track my eating.

Fighting disordered eating still at 45. Mom took me to a diet clinic at 12. This was passed on from her female family members....I vowed to NEVER say anything negative about food to my teenage daughter, she has INTUITIVE eating!! Something I do not have.

I wish I could go back in time and tell my mom to leave me alone about my weight when I was 12.

I have an 11 year old daughter who used to be very thin... some friends and family have commented on her weight recently and my mama bear has gone for them! I wont allow anyone to comment on her body! She eats her fruit and oats, veggies and pasta, and anything we have available. Its nobodys business how she looks and I want her to be happy 😡 I will definetly boicot the ww app if I can. I feel it can ruin so many kids happiness

I was 5 years old when a doctor first told me, word-for-word "You're too fat and you need to lose weight". I was 3 pounds overweight. Think about that: 5 years old, and three pounds.

I remember when I was 14-15 my mom was on weight watchers and she was happy for me to join her in the journey and that's definitely when I started to notice my body image issues / eating disorder truly began but here I am 26 and developed my bulimia . But happy to state that I'm going on a month free of purging . I binge every so often but I am still so damn proud that even after a binge I'm refusing to puke ( even tho i do deal with excruciating pain all of the next day ) I am proud and happy to have my bloated belly instead of constantly having my face in the toilet . Love you Abby so happy I've discovered you throughout my recovery process ❤

I'm honestly shocked that it's legal to promote an app like this! 😳

This is so true. When I was young my dad constantly telling me I was fat so at 13 i started crash dieting and having horrible relationships with food. It's taken me to 32 to get to an okay place with food.

👏YAS. This app is so fucked up. I love fired up Abbey!! And that you channeled that anger and passion into logical explanations of why this is wrong. Kudos! 💕

I’d love to see Abbey do a video on how to avoid over-eating while intuitively eating. I have to track my foods because I naturally have a tendency to over-eat if I don’t. How do you train yourself to know when to stop?

😡You can tell Mama Abbey’s pissed when her cheeks are burning red! 🤣

I told my 13 year old about this app and she said "Mom, weight watchers just wants you to buy their products. They don't care about people's health."

Instead of parents spending money on WW, they should spend money on educating themselves on nutrition. I saw the documentary Fed Up a couple of years ago, which you've probably seen, but one of the things that shocked me was how unaware a lot of the parents were when it came to nutrition

I'm sorry but if people are letting their kids use an app like this to lose weight they are setting them up for failure. Parents need to get their kids in to see Dietician or Nutritionist to help them learn about food and how to eat intuitively. I see this app could create a fear of food with children, eating disorders. This is insane.

My mom insists that Weight Watchers teaches proper nutrition and gives you the tools to change your lifestyle. Every time we get into this, I tell her that it taught her to fixate on the ridiculous point values they assign to food and hasn't taught her how to eat in a more healthful manner. Her evidence is her feelings. Mine is that every time she has stopped weight watchers, she gained all the weight back and then some. I'm currently about 35 pounds overweight, and I'm not super happy about that, but I'd rather be 35 pounds overweight than spend the rest of my life yoyo dieting.

I'm on two diets now. I wasn't getting enough food on just one. #RiotsNotDiets

My Fitness Pal did this with me. At the time you didn't have to eat the 1200 calorie minimum. So little 12 year old me in the mist of my ed would eat so much under just for the app to say "in 5 weeks you would weight ___" and on the flip side the days I would eat normally and would log it and the little thing at the bottom said in 5 weeks I would way x. That made me terrified.

I had an eating disorder for 15 years because I started dieting at 8.

My anorexia (Which is now classified as OSFED but still very much alive 11 years later) started when I was 11. I used the myfitnesspal app in secret when i got a smart phone a few years later. I did this knowing it was wrong. I can't even imagine how much worse off I'd be if i'd been outright encouraged even more than I already was for my behaviors. I've spent over half my life dealing with an eating disorder, i'm sick of the high high potential of developing one as a consequence o apps like these, being played off. Thank you for making this video.

Dieting is confusing to children. I remember having to go to the doctor as a child and my parents talked to the doctor behind closed doors after weighing me. I was so confused why I was there. Then the doctor brought me in the room and said 'you need to eat less candy.' I never ate candy? That is when I started feeling negative about my body and that is not ok. The parents are the primary source of food for a lot of children until they move out! If anything there needs to be an app for parents to educate themselves on how to feed their children right. I have been on WW for a few months and I still have some triggers of 'forbidden foods.' Did you know that all fruits and vegetables are free points but if you put them in a smoothie those same points would turn into 10 points (about 1/3 of a days servings). How is that healthy? I feel guilty now anytime I eat a smootie. If a kid has that same app they could possibly eat a 200 calorie smoothie and feel fat for using all their red/orange points. Not ok.

Can you make a video on how to help a bruised metabolism recover after yoyo dieting?

Sort of off topic but thanks so much sharing your perspective on feeding you kid. The 'parents decides what, when, and where' and 'kid decides if and how much' approach has completly taken the stress out of dinner. My kid is 6 and on the autism sectrum. She has some food aversions, but in general, she's just a normal, I'd-rather-eat-pizza kid. In the past couple of weeks I've found out the she loves green beans, and will eat spagehitti sauce, just not with spaghetti. She's stopped boycotting sprouted grain bread, and apparently peanut butter is bae. All I have to do is give her food and walk away. Its like magic.

It is so refreshing to have someone on KZfaq who focuses on balanced eating rather than restrictive or fad diets.

You also really shouldn’t be restricting calories while a child is growing. Edit: she said that.

This app scares me. As someone who is 16 three years ago I had an eating disorder. I ate a snack size box of raisins and a snack size apple sauce. This was all I ate until dinner when I had a very small plate of whatever my mom/dad had made that night. Along with that I was also in high performance P.E. I didn’t realize it was a problem until I was having major panic attacks and had to go into counselling. This was when my family found out what I was eating.

I literally have no words. I'm so glad this thing never existed while I was growing up, if would definitely have messed me up and probably a ton of people around me. this is so...UGH. NO WORDS

That app is so wrong on so many levels, It makes me really sad and angry that Weight Watchers are doing this. I was introduced to weight watchers when I was 20 something by a relative who has been jojo dieting her entire life, and although She was doing it with good intentions , I wish I had known what I know now. Diets dont work. And its sickening how WW are trying to suck out money from everywhere they can, and setting up a lot of kids for a lifetime of illnes and pain.

I just realized I’d love to see I review of DR. Michael Gregors book How Not To Diet when it’s released.

I’m so glad I found this video! I’m 16 and I started using this app to learn how to eat healthier and be a better athlete. I thought it would be better and healthier than counting calories. But it just made things more confusing when it told me that foods I liked and thought had nutritional value like peanut butter, cheese and even hummus were “red” foods and on the same plane as cake and candy. I just ended up feeling really guilty for eating too many “red” foods in a day and not having the will power to stick to “ green”and “yellow” foods. I’m so glad I found you’re channel. Thank you for giving the real information!!

Love this video! In South Africa, a new law was passed that people giving nutritional advice without proper qualification and registration will be prosecuted. There are too many quacks out there!

Thank you for doing a video on this. As a teacher, I am so disturbed by this app. WW was something I briefly tried in my early twenties & I quickly learned it was not for me. When I was on that program I remember this moment when I was hungry & was going to eat a banana, but was concerned because it had a lot of points. Luckily, I stopped the program after a few weeks, and for the rest of my twenties and into my thirties now, I just eat when I am hungry and listen to my body. I hope we can focus more on this generation how to listen to our bodies, and to really end this diet culture. Your video on this is excellent.

I'm writing an informative essay in my English 101 class about this and issues like this (redefining the word "healthy") and this video really helped me to feel more confident about what I'm saying and it means a lot to me personally that you're addressing stuff like this. I had an eating disorder for the last two years, and now that I've recovered, I've become really passionate about educating people with ACTUAL nutritional facts. I'm planning to become a dietitian/nutritionist and you have really been helping me with this journey. Thanks so much and keep it up!!!

I love how much you swear! and somehow don't sound aggressive or horrible ( im not being sarcastic btw!)

i'm so glad to hear you encouraging parents to give food positive language!! my mom has an eating disorder (that she so graciously passed along) and it really took only until i was about 10 for me to internalize how she treated herself and the food we ate. "do as i say, not as i do" literally never works, but it's even more difficult when it's something as sensitive and widespread as diet culture and body shaming. i'm still in the pretty early stages of recovery myself, but whenever i feel down about myself recently i turn on one of your videos and i feel a whole lot better.

This is serious and Abbey is a true professional for calling this app out..... I also love it when she goes the f**k off. It warms my soul.

How would you recommend talking to kids who are on a restricted diet due to religion or morals (e.g. Kosher or vegan) without giving them a complex about the rules around food?

I think that I would enjoy Abbey making some videos on nutrition for school children.

This is so disheartening... Thank you for this, Abbey. I completely agree and am appalled just thinking of the ideas we are passing on to our children with this, not only about food but about themselves!!

What's wrong with calling some foods bad? Obesity epidemic didn't start growing from people eating more apples and broccoli. We've been hearing about the obesity epidemic since late 90s and early 2000s, can we start admitting that some of the food out there isn't good at all without the moral baggage?

I remember so clearly one of the moments when my disordered thought patterns started. I was a really passionate dancer at ages 8-11. In one lesson, my dancing teacher pinched my sides and told me “You should try eating watermelon, it’s really good for weight loss.” Yeah, don’t say that kind of crap to a child. It sticks.

Wow. I wish my mom hadn’t encouraged diets, restrictions and weight stigma. 16 and already trying to heal my mentality to truly be healthy and comfortable in my body. Thanks for the great video!!

What I love about you and your videos is that whenever you are critical of a practice, you actually offer alternative solutions. It’s obvious that your purpose is to help people improve and make good decisions. Thanks for all the info you provide.

Felt shitty about getting a bit bigger, then Abbey mentioned that gaining weight during puberty is totally normal and suddenly everything is ok again.

I’m currently in treatment for an eating disorder. I’ve been hospitalized for ED related complications twice and have been in and out of recovery since I moved out 5 years ago. My ED started like so many others! My mother did WW, Jenny Craig, SlimFast, etc. She would pack the SlimFast shakes in my lunches, instead of ANY food, and would shame me when I came home and binged. This type of behavior turned into a disorder before I’d finished the 1st grade and I have no idea if I’ll ever get past this. Kurbo is without a doubt in my mind perpetuating disordered behavior by creating fear foods, controlling behaviors, and perfectionism. All these kiddos want is to feel loved for who they are in the body they’re in.

I'm so disturbed by this - thank you for bringing this to the surface! Eff off WW!

Wow, this video hit me hard. Kurbo has actually been around for a while, so I was really surprised recently when people started talking about it. I gained a lot of weight in early middle school and my mom started me on Kurbo when I was around 13 or 14. I had always been kind of insecure about my weight but this is kind of what pushed me over the edge body image wise. I’m 18 now, and though I’m starting to become more self aware about my issues with food and my body, they’re far from over. I’ve dieted on and off for the past 4 years and my weight has fluctuated a lot. I’m finally trying to educate myself about real nutrition and I’m seeing a therapist about my body image, but these are things I know I’m going to struggle with these things for the rest of my life. I hate to see other, younger kids going through what I did. Thanks for making this video.

My mother took me to WW when I was 9 because I was jealous she was taking my 11 year old chubby sister. I sat in the meetings and everything! I’m now 42 and scared of food. Guilt, shame, disordered habits, anxiety, depression, recovered alcoholism etc etc...

LOVED THIS VIDEO!! My mom put me on diets in mid elementary school and now I’m working on “normalizing” my eating again. Thank you for this!

My mom has been on WW for so many years, I never thought of it that way. I will say she’s found a community there and really loves her “Saturday morning food church” as they call it. But I can definitely see how her being on that since I was a child has matriculated down to how I feel about food and dieting.

I still have my old my fitness pal account, going back and looking at how young i was (12-13) when i first started trying to lose weight, i wish i could go back and apologize to that young girl for the life of shame and sadness i set her up for. This is freaking horrible... :(

I have been really overweight for most of my adult life. I have tried my very best to lose weight but I've not been successful and always just packed on a lot more than I lost. However since subscribing to you I've lost 40 lb in 5 months something that I'm incredibly proud of because I've learned how to actually listen to what my body wants. I felt as if when there was bad foods I was making decisions around my ability to eat that food. For example if I really wanted a cinnamon Bun I would go for a hard exercise in the morning then not eat lunch in order to fit a cinnamon bun into my daily calorie or Point count. And whatever I wanted to treat myself I felt like I had to want the bad foods or it wasn't really treating myself. After listening to you talk about dieting what we really need to be teaching is good nutrition and how to listen to your body, I've learned be more intuitive with my food choices and I find that I am not reaching for the bad foods as often. I do still track my food however that's due to a medical condition in which I need to keep track of calories but once I threw the idea of bad foods out the window my overall calorie count has been similar to when I was on a diet without actually feeling like I am restricted in any way

My mother would have me go on diets with her when I was a child. I remember trying to follow the Atkins diet with her when I was only eight. When I was fourteen, I went from a size 0 up to a size 4 because of puberty, and had my first panic attack over it. When I was 15, I went up to a size 10, and had a week where I didn't eat ANY food. I've been dealing with Anorexia and Bulemia for my entire life, because my mother wanted "moral support" on her diets. This app sounds exactly like what my mother did to me, and it ruined my life.

I lost weight with ww over the course of 2.5 years and it really helped me with my relationship with food. So I'm two ways about this video. Totally with you on boycotting the app for kids. Thats awful and a terrible idea! But I just dont feel the same way about the programme for adults. Between December 2015 and June 2018 I lost 26kg (ca 50 lbs) with weight watchers. I lost it in four distinct rounds, and had breaks in between while still attending meetings. During the process I read a lot about the odds of maintaining weight loss. I knew only 5-10% of people keep the weight off, and I wanted to know what i could do to increase my chances of being in that category. So I slowly made sustainable lifestyle changes and aimed for a weight in could maintain as opposed to maximum possible weight loss. Doing meetings, tracking food and having to face my food choices forced me to really reflect on my troubled relationship with food, eating and weight. I'd been overweight my whole life. I remember being 5-6 years old and not being able to keep up with other kids at daycare. I was bullied and made fun of. My mother was naturally thinno matter what she ate and did not know anything about how to promote healthy eating because she had never needed to think about it herself. Growing up I felt like it was my fault I was fat. In my early 20s I realised it was wrong to put that kind of pressure on myself. Children should not have to carry the weight of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. That's why I hate the concept of kurbo. Adults need to be educated, but kids should not be the ones held responsible for their food choices. I'm really grateful for the opportunity I got to overhaul my eating habits as I did weight watchers. But i know most people dont approach it the way I did. I was in many Facebook groups and the cultures are pretty toxic. The focus is either just on minimizing points any way possible or, on the flip side, judging and berating others for eating "fake food". I had to mute them for my own sanity. I dont know what the solution is, but I think there is a level of hypocrisy to saying, on the one hand, that ww is for the rich who can afford it while at the same hand saying we should learn to eat intuitively. This isnt just a critique of you, but many other youtubers who say the same thing. If you are an adult with a terrible relationship with food, how exactly are you meant to "learn to eat intuitively"? From the outside it certainly doesnt seem accessible when you know little about nutrition and how to create balanced meals. The ww points system allowed me to see that I can have a bit of cake when I'm out for dinner and still lose weight. I just cant have cake every day. it showed me I can still eat all sorts of carbs and fats, just not in huge amounts. I had a terrible relationship with food and couldn't have just suddenly started "listening to my body". I was 25 and weighed 89kg. My body didn't know what it wanted. I needed more support than simple platitudes. Luckily I was in a financial position to pay for a weight watchers membership. It was no where near perfect, but it sure was better than just continuing on as I was 🤷‍♀️

SO. MUCH. YES! Can’t express how much I LOVE this! As a new parent, body shaming and encouraging a healthy relationship with food has been on my mind for a while now and this is such a good synopsis! I’ve been on WW myself and love their program for adults because I believe it generally does encourage you to eat healthier! However, I whole heartedly agree that any type of “dieting” belongs nowhere near our children!!

I know this is an older post but I just came across it and this makes me so sad. I was put on my first diet at 11. I’m 48 now and I’m still struggling to find peace with food and my body. Some days I think I will take this issue to my grave. But thank you so much for being a (very)minority voice for sanity where food is concerned on social media. And no way will I ever put my daughter on a diet. She’s always been naturally thin but she’s going through puberty and gaining weight as expected which brings up issues with me. I am staying committed to not making weight or her body an issue or topic of conversation. It’s hard because she suffers from food sensitivities so we do need to discuss food but your videos have reminded me to keep the context about how certain foods make her feel versus labeling them good or bad. Again just thank you. ♥️

As a current ww lifetime member when I first heard of the app I was very nervous and with further investigation angry. It honestly goes against the whole idea that ww puts out for adults that you can eat anything in balance. By putting the idea out there that there are "red foods" it says the complete opposite. I have a 3 year old that has texture sensitivity and therefore doesn't eat much variety. During my losing period of my journey with ww I had been interested in a point system for kids not for her to lose weight but so I could make sure she was getting in enough. This app does nothing to help with the children who may not eat enough. I am so disappointed in the company by this. It makes me very sad. The day I found out about the app I searched for posts about it on the ww social media connect and was shocked to see how many parents were already embracing it and having their children use it.

I hope you one day make a video with Katy Morton. i think that would be awesome!

OMG! This is my life, I wish you were around when I was a young teenager. Ugh oh well, I am learning great thing for my daughter. I have literally been through everything you have talked about and it all started with WW. A whole group of strangers shaming me because I'd put on a kg. Which lead to disordered eating and eventually drug use. And the struggle is still going. Hopefully 2021 is the year I learn to eat intuitively, for both me and my daughter. Thank the universe for you Abbey, I appreciate you!!!

I’m a direct product of these apps/programs/products and I’m just now-at 24, when this all started around the age of 10-entering treatment for what has developed into properly diagnosed binge eating disorder. Thank you so much for bringing to light how incredibly toxic these kinds of apps/programs/products can be, as well as both the mental and possibly physical distress parents or other family members could potentially be setting their children up for when they encourage using them.

THANK YOU for talking about this! this app is so toxic and I really worry about what this will do to young kids and their self esteem. it is SO much better for a young kid to have a healthy relationship with food and be a little overweight as compared to obsessing over calories from a young age. they're growing! a lot of kids already don't eat enough.

For me personally this video was relatable but in terms of parents - when I was going through puberty my mum constantly tried to get me to go on diets, told me I was too fat, gaining too much weight etc - I’ve always ate reasonably healthy though so the weight gain literally was just to do puberty. Everything you said about how being forced to diet at a young age can lead to eating disorders just resonates so much with me, I just have such an unhealthy relationship with food now

The before-after example made me cry. That is so messed up. Abbey, you're amazing. Keep fighting the good fight! ✊

Thank you so much for speaking out about this! I belong to some groups on Facebook and so many think that this is okay. I shall refer them to your video when it's mentioned now. I hope WW is bombarded with so much backlash from this app that they shut it down.

Please do a video about Amberlynn Reid! Edit: apparently Abbey has previously said that Amberlynn is going through something more psychological than nutritional so she isn't going to do a video on her. Just fyi 🙂

Yeah no 🙄 this is literal bullshit. No foods should be red. Parents need to do their due diligence and make losing weight about improving health , enjoying healthy food, and playing ! My parents just kept telling me to lose weight until I got to the point of being 325 lbs at 22 and having to get weightloss surgery . ( yes my fault partially but I think my parents educating me on food and nutrition instead of linking my weight to how I look or it being my value would have helped me so much) . I'm 100 lbs down btw and still working on my relationship with food 😁

What an incredible video! You nailed absolutely every point. Not just for vulnerable kids but adults who have been through this. Thank you for your words and your inspiration. You are educating but mostly advocating for the kids!! Love all that you do ❤️❤️❤️

So much rings true to my experiences as a preteen! Important to note, Oprah is not just a paid ambassador. She owns more than 5 million shares in the company... resulting in 8%. Oprah owns 8% of weight watchers and it is very much in her best interest to convince you it works.

Her sons breakfast struck multiple reds, I added a Coke Zero on mine and it was a yellow...

I'd rather sign my future children up for a good nutrition class with a professional than throw an app at them. This whole app seems like lazy parenting and ignorance.

I love this tip @ 15:00. It's so important to do this. I grew up with my mum loving vegetables and I loved them as well. I got radishes and carrots in my lunchbox and I always ate them happily. Even though I have had a couple of years of not so nutritious eating in my 20's, I had no trouble switching back to more fruits and veggies, because I still loved them! It helps tremendously if you actually enjoy eating fruits and vegetables.

Wow, I can't believe this app is actually out there. This blows my mind! I struggled with being "overweight" my entire life. I learned to love my body bigger. It took time, but eventually in high school I stoped caring what others thought of my weight and embraced my curves! Kids should be focused on school and getting an education, making friends and dreaming about what they want to do in the future!

Can you do more videos about the Carnivore diet? I feel like this is becoming a new trend now and there's also KZfaqrs like this doctor Paul Saladino promoting it.

Parents need to watch this video! My daughter was overweight as a child and when the school started to use the BMI scale I was furious! I am a personal trainer and cardio instructor (27yrs), so I understand "healthy" eating. I NEVER EVER put my daughter on a diet-- and ya know what? When she was a sophomore in high school all the weight melted away. She was active as a child, cheered and played softball, and her size was accepted. In fact it was so accepted that when she was a cheerleader the coaches mom made a skirt (by redesigning 2 skirts) to fit her! And many more girls wore said skirt after her. I was on WW in the 90's with their Fat and Fiber program and became very fat phobic...I could recite how much fat was in a food and whether I would eat it. Once they switched to the Slide then Points,I was out. Too much stress hanging over my head using points. This video reminds me of Christy Harrison RD and the HAAS method (which I LOVE). I lister to her podcasts when I walk my dogs. Abbey, thank you for all your videos, and maybe think about starting a podcast in all your "free" time (lol). I would so listen to them!

You’re my favorite youtuber right now. compassionate from a place of research and science. you’ve been helping me bit by bit the past few weeks. small things like making more nutritionally balanced meals throughout the day, and distancing myself from the harmful “i ate like shit today, so i feel like shit, so i am shit” way of thinking, and into “i made some unbalanced choices so i feel unbalanced, i’ll pay more attention tomorrow.”. i’ve been feeling less and less guilty, and a lot less shameful. thank you so much for utilizing your career and platform to educate and speak your knowledge 💖💖 can’t wait for the next video.

Im so happy that you are speaking out against diets especially when it comes to kids. When I was younger I was overweight and whenever I went to the doctor I was shamed and lectured about how bad and negative my weight gain was. I wasn't dangerously overweight either, but never should a child be shamed for how they look. I was but on multiple diets that never worked and only made me feel worse. Thank you for doing what you do, that you for educating people about the detriments of these societal constructions.

I seemed to be in the one year of WW 25 years ago when they first came out with points. It really helped me. My parents (both dead already from poor nutrition) fed me nothing but sugar, pizza, soda and crap. They believed as long as I took a flint stone vitamin that's all I needed. I came to adulthood completely unprepared to feed myself, and WW actually really helped me find an objective understanding of food so that I could understand the choices that come with intuitive eating. However, as a 30 year teacher and human development expert, what Abbey has described is sick, twisted and everything wrong with our culture. They could have done this the opposite way and succeeded so hard. I am sad that something that helped me so much has become so untrustworthy.

I'm just as mad as you are! I starting getting into 'health' and calorie counting apps/magazines when I was in middle school. I'm 25 now and still haven't recovered from eating disorders or disordered eating. I'm now a calorie encyclopedia, thanks to these apps I know the exact amount of calories in a tablespoon of freaking sugar free syrup. These apps set you up for a lifetime of obsession!

You are bloomin awesome Abbey, love the passion behind your message. I was very lucky as a kid and never went on diets as I was active but then again I grew up in a world that encouraged kids to get outside and move and it was at a time it was safe to do so. I feel desperately sorry for any child growing up with a weight problem and for those growing up with parents who have weight struggles now or in the past. You are a credit to you tube. Thank you. X

Thank you so much for speaking out against this. The first time I was called fat, I was four years old. I was always a “fat kid” and by the time I got to high school I was ready to try any diet. I wound up losing a lot of weight (very quickly) through heavy restriction of what foods I was “allowed” to eat which then led to binging, and of course that cycle continues. There’s nothing “virtuous” about your hair falling out because you’re malnourished or feeling socially isolated because you “can’t” eat whatever everyone else is having because you’re thoroughly terrified of the food. I’m now at a physically healthy point with my body according to my doctor, but I’m working on getting there with my mind too,and I’ve made so much progress and your videos help me a lot. Thank you again for speaking out against this, and speaking for healthy lifestyles for the body and mind.

can you please tell us your solution to losing weight for PCOS and insulin resistance, I've watched all your videos and can't seem to find anything on actually how to lose weight when it really is required, coz sometimes it is required

WW is stuck in the 90s. The personal behavior model of health improvement has been shown to have little effect on overall health. Join the 21st Century. Our zipcodes, our jobs, our wealth, our personal built environments, our access to safe green space, our education, etc. these seemingly unrelated things are truly what are driving our and our children's health. I shudder to think of a child with this app telling their family they can't eat the food on their plate because an app tells them they can't when that is the only food they could afford and had time to prepare for their child(ren) (yes many impoverished families do still have smart phones). That isn't improving health, that's just furthering stigma and shame that can last a lifetime. I interned at a children's hospital system and it did something to bring healthful nutrition to the most at risk families in our community. We had a truck that would bring fresh, locally grown (a good portion of it by young adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities) produce to neighborhoods without access to grocery stores (one coming soon, thanks ALDI!), and we wouldn't preach a replacement method of eating or demonize any foods. We just encouraged the families to add these nutritionally dense ingredients to the meals they were already preparing. This is how you create positive change, not the ww bullshit.

I just found your youtube channel. Thanks for discussing this topic. WW is definitely what started me on my weight cycling/disordered eating journey. I started on it when I was a sophomore in high school and I am still on the road to recovery at age 30 (but seeing progress finally!) I was horrified when I found out about this app. Kids, I get it, it sucks feeling like the size/shape of your body is holding you back, but your health is more important. It just is. You don't want to deal with chronic disease as a result of decades of disordered eating patterns, you probably want to live a full and vibrant life. Parents, you don't want your kids to hate you and then have to go to therapy to forgive you. Investing time and energy in diet culture only serves the corporations! This video is so real.

Thank you for this! I was an overweight child, and all of the comments from (probably well meaning) parents, family members, adults, doctors, teachers, etc about my weight and eating hurt more than the bullying and was probably the driving force behind my Anorexia and BP disorders. People don't realize how bad those well meaning comments like "are you sure you want to eat that", or "that food is bad try this instead" fucked me up so bad. You are so right about people developing food fears too, like because of everything I have had a decade long fear of get this, muffins. Even in recovery i've been able to eat what people consider unhealthier foods, but that one food I can't get over due to the comments from my childhood. This app is honestly one of the worst things they can do for overweight kids, it will definitely contribute to body issues and disordered eating.

The traffic light system sounds like Noom (a different diet app, meant for grownups)

I most certainly agree that WW was horrible and extremely ineffective for me. And this Kurbo thingy just sounds horrible! Especially for kids. But what should we do about obesity in our children if not to teach them what is healthy and is good to eat a lot of and things like candy, cake and soda that we should only have a little of. I agree that Kurbo does it VERY wrong, but shouldn't we as parents do it right? How could we do that?

My parents started putting me on diets when I was 5 years old, which failed and kept trying and after years of failed dieting my parents decided that to get this to work that each week I didn’t lose weight there would be some sort of ‘punishment’ (things from being grounded, and having my toys destroyed etc, to being picked on (being called a pig) by them). This ended up leading to BED and a massive weight gain and this only made my parents and everyone around me hate me even more. I got to my heaviest weight at 21 years old of 185kg (407 lbs) and then was ‘convinced’ to have the gastric sleeve. Which yes worked, as I ended up losing all of the weight. But I didn’t lose it healthily at all. I got to 39kg (85 lbs) and when my parents were like ‘okay you can stop now’ and I just couldn’t. I had been told by everyone daily that I was a fat cow and needed to lose weight and then just to have everyone stop saying these things wouldn’t compute in my head. Anyways, I now have a life long eating disorder, I’m even more miserable than before, I’m now more scared of bread than having a heart attack and even, had an NG tube not that long ago... but hey, at least my parents are happy they don’t have a fat daughter anymore, right?.. point of my story, please don’t put kids on diets, just let their bodies do their thing

Makes me realize how bad it was when my school (pre-k through 12) put in place the traffic light system in the cafeteria. We had all you can eat because we had a yearly, one time fee for lunch. I just remember how most of the hot food was red light and how I didn't want to eat a salad or cold sandwich every day. I definitely did not have a healthy relationship with food growing up, and I was always told by my doctors and family that I needed to lose weight (I started puberty at 8), and I saw a lot of poor examples of food relationships in my family. The first time I lost a significant amount of weight in middle school, I was on an extremely restrictive and exercise heavy lifestyle, and I was praised like crazy. Now, I am in college, and I am struggling so hard just to know what to eat at all. My body has no cues at all and my appetite and health is all over the place. I am also the heaviest I have ever been. I'm just starting to figure everything out, but breaking years and years of conditioning is ridiculously hard.

Could you please make a video on healthy and sustainable ways to lose weight, because obviously there are a huge proportion of people and even kids who are overweight and obese, and I'm not clear on the difference between 'intuitive eating' that you talk about a lot, and just eating what you want when you want, which can land a lot of people (including myself) squarely into the overweight category. (Cravings I'm also interested in too, cause I intuitively crave very unhealthy food, and if I eat a bit it's usually moreish so I just want to keep eating)

Hey Abbey! Would it be possible to link the specific studies you mentioned in this video? Especially the 2017 paper mentioned at around 5:18. I'm working on a research paper for class about diet culture's impact on children and these studies would be amazing to read/use!

YES ABBEY!! I loved this video, it’s so well research and supported with scientific studies. I’m engaged in my local department for prevention against eating disorders, and we often talk about and educate people that the best way to prevent eating disorders amongst children is to teach them to have confidence and see their self worth. Thank you so much for making this video and being so passionate about food and proper education!!

I am SO FREAKING GREATFUL for you making this video! I hope it goes viral and out-weights this shitty app with views. Honestly, we already have an immense ED problem these days and such apps are just making everything worse. Thank you once again for bringing all those important issues up!

When the ad for an Abbey video is vshread.com telling me fruit is evil for anyone not athletic 🤣🤣 as someone who’s been on a diet since I was 5, I can 100% verify how much this will f*uck up your relationship with food.

Love the shirt, Abbey! No crash diets needed, just healthy lifestyle choices and balance!

Honestly thank you for the video. Not only for talking about WW and their outrageous app, but also for exploring the side effects of dieting at a young age. My mother was and is obsessed in weight loss. She send me to a health clinic when I was around 8-9 and signed me up for WW when I was 12. I'm sure she was convinced that she was helping. But listening to the side effects of such restriction at a young age, mental and physical is an important step for me to understand why I'm the way I'm. So thank you a lot.

So glad you made this video. Really hope lots of parents see this

It's hard realizing that my eating disorders can be traced back to the way my mom talks about herself (and occasionally, me).

This channel has helped me so much since I discovered it! I’ve always had poor self image. I was slightly “overweight” as a kid, and when I was 13, I put myself on my first diet. That would lead to years of disordered eating. When I moved away after high school, I gained weight and spent years hating myself for it. After having my first son, I joined WW with the encouragement of my doctor, and lost a good amount of weight. The first few years, I did well, as I was unknowingly using a lot of IE skills. I had some medication changes and my mental health was not in a good place, and regained the weight I lost, plus a bit. Last year, I joined WW again, and lost some weight but the disordered eating that I struggled with for 20 years got much worse. I quit after getting admitted to the hospital. Over the next few months, I put on all the weight I had plus a lot more. I discovered intuitive eating earlier this year, and for the first time, I’m starting to love my body. And guess what?! I want to eat the foods that make me feel good, whether it’s broccoli or cake, and I’m starting to understand better what I need. I have 2 kids. My oldest is long and lean, my youngest is very tall for his age and sturdy. I worry more about my oldest since he has a lot of food aversions, but even then, it’s less about his weight, more that he’s getting everything he needs. My youngest on the other hand is an adventurous eater and loves trying new foods! I try so hard not to make any foods off limits because it’s “bad”. My parents were very controlling of my diet as a kid and I never want them to feel the same. This got very long, but I just needed to share.

What the heck is wrong with people who create this apps?! Thank you, Abbey👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼you’re the only dietitian on KZfaq who speaks up

Let's find out how long KZfaq comments can be: I agree with the fact that this app and its marketing has been terribly executed. I think an app like this should be available only with a prescription from the child's doctor, and I think 8 years old is too young. It should be 13-17. This video seems to run under the assumption that this app is for kids who are a normal weight or very slightly overweight, who themselves or their parents are concerned about weight gain. The idea that kids should be gaining weight during puberty is...obvious, and that's not who this app is for (again, a failure on WW). This video is also extremely presumptuous that all kids are eating yogurt, fruit, sourdough bread, and almond butter for breakfast, and that their parents know a single thing about health or nutrition. I agree about what the fuck was their criteria for the food categorization, clearly they put too much emphasis on sole fat content and not any other nutrients. BUT I remember being in first grade - 6 years old - getting told at every single checkup that I was in the red zone on BMI charts and had to lose weight. As an adult I now know that meant I was obese by age 6. I didn't know what to do. My parents either didn't know what to do or didn't think it was a big deal. No one told me to eat my vegetables. I ate whatever I wanted. My mom made me breakfast every day before school from elementary until 10th grade. French toast sticks or eggo waffles, always drowned in butter and syrup. Lunch was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some kind of snack - a brownie or cookie. Dinner would be pop tarts, kraft mac and cheese, a grilled cheese sandwich. The point is, my parents didn't know enough to teach me how to eat properly and were also obese themselves. I didn't have a smartphone until I was 16, but an app like this probably would've been a lot better than the ABC diet I found on tumblr (look it up, it's a month calendar with a daily calorie allowance - ranging between 0-500 calories per day. Repeat the diet until you're happy). I was obese until age 23. I can only imagine how different my life would have been had I grown up in 2019 when my doctor could have said here, download this app, it'll help you see which foods make you feel like this and which foods will make you feel better. Again, this is where they need to sort out their food grading scale. Could my parents have taken the time to learn about nutrition and get me and themselves healthier? Maybe. But that's not reality. There are parents that don't think it's a big deal to have an obese child. There are parents who were never taught about nutrition themselves. I think it's kids of those parents who this app needs to be for, and was made for. That needs to be clearer in the marketing, but then obviously this wouldn't be so controversial. But I think the *idea* is a step in the right direction.