UK Edition
Fitness tracker alerts 'dangerous' for people with eating disorders
Fitness tracker push notifications should be automatically switched off, a charity has said, as it warned the devices could be “highly dangerous” for people with eating disorders.
Beat said popular smart watches and trackers that delivered constant prompts to hit movement and calorie-burning targets were “exacerbating” conditions where sufferers used exercise as a form of calorie control.
The charity’s call has been backed by a top NHS eating disorder specialist who said she was seeing patients who had become “almost addicted” to fitness tracker streaks and goals.
Tech companies are also been urged to introduce notifications that warn people when they are exercising too much and encourage them to take rest days.
Tom Quinn, Director of External Affairs, for Beat said: “If you have apps that are pushing you to go further, that are sending you messages that you haven’t done this number of steps or burned this number of calories, that would be highly dangerous to people who have eating disorders. At the very least these things should not be coming on automatically.”
Fitness trackers and smart watches have exploded in popularity in recent years, with Apple shipping around 24 million Apple Watches worldwide in 2018 and Fitbit 14 million.
Most devices are set up to deliver regular notifications encouraging users to complete daily calorie-burning targets, reminding them to stand up or congratulating them for setting new exercise records.
For popular trackers like the Apple Watch, the full range of notifications are activated when the device is first set up to record exercise, although they can later be edited in settings.
The device also provides motivational prompts such as 'You doubled your move goal yesterday. Amazing. Do it again today', 'Your Move and Exercise rings are usually further along by now. Find some time to be active today' and 'you closed one [exercise] ring yesterday. Get all three today'.
Apple said its notifications were designed to encourage users to take recommended daily amounts of exercise a day, rather than rewarding increasing targets.
Another popular device, Fitbit, also provides notifications with messages like “Almost to your five day exercise goal! You're in it to win it” and “Overachiever! You're 11,000 steps over your daily goal”.
Danielle Glennon, clinical lead for eating disorders at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, a specialist mental health hospital, backed the call for notifications to not come on automatically and said she was seeing a rising number of patients struggling with fitness trackers.
“It becomes an almost addictive and habitual behaviour with using these devices,” said Ms Glennon. “When they (patients) start doing 20,000 steps a day, that becomes the new norm. And when we ask for them to cut that back, as we do with calories, it fills them with actual terror and fear.”
Coralie Frost, 26-year-old from London who is recovering from anorexia, told the Telegraph how her Fitbit became “a catalyst” that worsened her condition.
She was 13 when she started developing the signs of anorexia, but says the eating disorder took control when she started running and bought the tracker in her early 20s.
“I felt was in control with my app but I was completely out of control,” Ms Frost said. “The app and the eating disorder were controlling me and telling me what to do, when to exercise and I would cancel plans as I was exercising that day.
“It is not just your exercise, it controls your entire life as you are being controlled by what that app is saying.”
Ms Frost, who works in communications, said the device congratulated her for completing streaks and hitting exercise target but provided “no reward for having a balanced life”.
She added: “They (fitness tracker developers) need to make sure there is a notification or a flag that gives some advice and says ‘this is not healthy you need a rest day.”
A spokesman for Fitbit said: “At Fitbit, our mission is to empower people to lead healthier, more active lives by providing them with the data, tools, inspiration and guidance to reach their health and wellness goals.
“We provide encouragement and positive experiences to support our users through features like our social feed and groups. What being healthy means differs for everyone, and we encourage users to consult their physician if they have any concerns about unhealthy behaviours.”