Thijs Knaap / 2011 / CC

A few days ago, news outlets reported on "WW" – formerly known as the diet industry giant Weight Watchers, now operating underneath the wellness sugar coating of "wellness that works", but still being a diet company – and its release of a diet app targeted at children as young as 8 years old. The app called "Kurbo" separates food into categories of "good" and "bad" and is supposed to help its users make healthy choices.

What the app and the whole idea it’s based on ignore, just like every other weight-loss diet, is the fact that your own body can tell you what nourishment it needs. It also feeds the assumption that only slim bodies are good bodies and that thin equals healthy, while fat equals unhealthy. This is a dangerous and erroneous message to promote to children.