The habit · Decision 10 of 14

Tracking and eating disorders

Anybody building a calorie tracker should answer this question clearly, so this page argues against our own product.

Last updated 1 October 2026.

What reviews and experiments found

Surveys do find a link, and that is the first section below. The pooled correlation comes from surveys, which only watch. The other two results are from randomized trials, which test.

r = 0.13 pooled correlation between tracking your weight or diet and eating-disorder symptoms; not calorie apps alone Roth et al. (2024) · 9 studies, 13,507 people · 95% CI −0.02 to 0.28, p = 0.08

β = −0.04 effect of a month of MyFitnessPal on eating-disorder symptoms, compared with no app Hahn et al. (2021) · 200 students, p = 0.17 · screened as low risk

p ≥ 0.164 for eating-disorder questionnaire scores at twelve months; not proof of zero risk Jospe et al. (2018) · 250 adults across five groups; 53.6% reported at least one binge at the start

The link is real in surveys

Levinson et al. (2017) surveyed 105 adults who had recently finished eating-disorder treatment. The authors say clearly that the answers look back in time and cannot show cause.

What people leaving eating-disorder treatment said about calorie apps 105 adults, surveyed after discharge. Each bar is a share of the group above it.

Had used MyFitnessPal 74%

Of all 105 respondents

Of those, said it contributed at least somewhat 73%

To their eating disorder

Of app users, said “very much” 30%

Same denominator as the 73% row, not 30% of that subgroup

0 100% of the group

Two randomized trials did not detect increased symptoms

Hahn et al. (2021) assigned 200 female students to a month of MyFitnessPal or nothing. There was no statistically significant effect on eating-disorder symptoms (β = −0.04, p = 0.17). The students had been screened as low risk, though. Jospe et al. (2018) followed 250 adults for twelve months and found no differences (all p ≥ 0.164). In that group, 53.6% had binge eating at the start.

Pooled association with weight-related self-monitoring Weight-related self-monitoring and eating-disorder symptoms: 9 studies, 13,507 adults from the general population.

no difference

Weight-related self-monitoring, pooled r = 0.13

Roth et al. 2024, 9 studies, 13,507 people, 95% CI −0.02 to 0.28

r = −0.10 r = +0.36

The best summary of where things stand is Moody et al. (2025). The review found a fairly steady link in surveys. The experiments it reviewed did not find the same. It could not say whether tracking causes harm, or which way the link runs. Studies that follow people over time point both ways. In one group, tracking predicted disordered eating later. In another, behaviour like purging or over-exercising predicted tracking later (O'Loughlin et al., 2023, adjusted OR 1.7).

Two surveys found a stronger link with harm among people tracking to change their weight or shape. But a person’s reason is not a tested way to tell safe use from unsafe use. And the design choices below have not been tested to see if they protect anyone.

What the guidelines actually say

Guidance depends on the setting. A food diary kept with a clinician is not the same as calorie tracking on your own. NICE NG69 includes food records supported by a clinician in some forms of eating-disorder treatment. The 2023 AAP guideline notes that eating disorders and other conditions “may preclude the use of certain tools that require intensive tracking.” The clearest statement about apps like ours is NICE HTG700. It applies to certain digital weight-management services being considered for NHS use, where a team of specialists works together. It requires their teams to have access to psychological support “to reduce the risk of harm, including from disordered eating.”

What that changed in the app

The uncertainty above is not a reason to design as if the answer were “no harm”. It is a reason to design as if the answer were “harm”. Doing that costs a few interface decisions. Being wrong the other way costs somebody their health.

We avoid streaks tied to diet limits as a precaution. Nobody has shown that one badge design harms more than another. The reasoning behind each of those choices, and the two studies on motive that decided the “perfect day” rule, are on the rewards page.