Weight Watchers launched an app for children last week. Called Kurbo, it is aimed at kids between 8 and 17 who want to “reach for a healthier weight.” It’s currently only available in the US, Canada and Singapore, but according to Weight Watchers, there are plans to launch worldwide. The organisation would not make further comment.
Want control? Diet. Want unconditional love? Diet. Want happiness? Diet. Want distraction? Diet. Want a job? Diet. I tried them all: Atkins, Limits, , even Weight Watchers, and flat-out starvation. Each time I’d lose weight, then feel safe enough to start eating, and then quickly eat too much and put it all back on.
But here’s the thing: As an adult I have a fully developed brain, so when I try to hang hate on my body, it doesn’t have the same magnitude. I have too much shit to do anyway. In the US, where Kurbo will make most of its money, the average age a girl will begin dieting is 10. In the 1970s that number was 14. All of this is to say: more young people than ever before are already struggling to accept their bodies, they don’t need an app charging them money to make it worse.
Skeleton?