Health class, a required class usually taken freshman year, is an easy, engaging and interesting class where you learn about pregnancy, obesity, mental health, alcohol, drugs, anatomy and much more. All of these are important topics to learn about, which is why health was one of my favorite classes last year.
However, the homework assignment where you track calories on Cronometer, a calorie-tracking website for four days outside of school, is problematic. Obviously, after doing this assignment, some people will move on with their lives. But some won’t.
Of all the teenage girls or boys whose minds and bodies are not fully developed, some can be self-conscious about their weight shifting or their bodies not looking like their peers or celebrities and influencers on screen. And in the previous Health unit, they were just taught on how to lose weight. This can lead to dangerous eating disorders, disordered eating and body dysmorphia.
The National Institute of Health conducted a study including 78 of 101 eating disorder participants who used MyFitnessPal, a calorie tracker app. Of the 78 who used the app, 73.1% reported that the app somewhat contributed to their eating disorder, 62.9% reported the app moderately contributed to their eating disorder and 30.3% reported that the app very much contributed to their eating disorder.
The common age of an eating disorder is 12-25. Of course, I agree that children should be educated on eating disorders, macronutrients, fad diets and calories, as it can be beneficial to those who might fall into the trap of fad diets, but instructing young impressionable teens to practice tracking their food intake may initiate a lonely struggle with weight and food that leaves a mark for the rest of their lives.
Teens should not even think about their weight or be mindful of calories unless it interferes with their daily lives or causes health problems.
