Green means go, red means stop. Trophies or confetti come with good performance, and people who fall behind get nudged to do better.<\/p>\n
Those brightly colored engagement tactics long ago jumped from smartphone games to everything from online shopping to\u00a0sports betting<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0classrooms<\/a>. So it should come as no surprise that many nutrition-tracking apps like MyFitnessPal<\/a> and Noom also use gaming features to keep users coming back.<\/p>\n But as nutrition apps proliferate, some researchers are raising alarms that gamification features may do more harm than good for some people.<\/p>\n Nutrition apps are becoming increasingly popular, so platforms are finding ways to keep users hooked. CoetzeeRising\/peopleimages.com \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n Isabella Anderberg, a psychologist researching digital dieting<\/a> behavior at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, said calorie tracking can reinforce behaviors associated with body dysmorphia and disordered eating<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do know that not everyone\u2019s going to experience harm from using the apps, but there are certainly factors that might increase risk,\u201d Anderberg said. \u201cApproach with caution.\u201d<\/p>\n The case for nutrition tracking apps<\/p>\n Anderberg said there is certainly a place for the apps. Health professionals she interviewed during her research reported that apps can be especially helpful as meal-planning tools<\/a> for people managing chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. And physical activity apps remind people to move their bodies.<\/p>\n Many users report enjoying them, finding tactics like streak notifications to be motivating.<\/p>\n For some, the apps can be very helpful; however, the calorie tracking aspect can reinforce behaviors associated with body dysmorphia and disordered eating. ChayTee \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n Angela Drury, an English professor in Woodstock, Georgia, began using MyFitnessPal<\/a> more than 10 years ago to track protein, fat, carbohydrate and calorie intake when she started CrossFit. She has since cycled through several other apps, including Weight Watchers<\/a>, Lose It and now Nourish, which is paid for by her insurance and includes blood work and weekly meetings with a dietitian.<\/p>\n Drury said the apps have helped her stay on track with\u00a0fitness goals\u00a0and have sometimes steered her away from high-calorie foods when she uploaded photos of meals she was considering eating. She feels a little boost when she gets a badge for continuing a streak for logging meals, but a notification that says she hasn\u2019t entered lunch has the opposite effect.<\/p>\n \u201cThen it felt like it was scolding me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Angela Drury says she enjoys receiving rewards, like badges, for continued use of the apps, similar to features used in games. AP Photo\/AP Illustration \/ Peter Hamlin<\/p>\n Be wary of what the app tells you<\/p>\n The way most apps work, users enter height, weight, age and other information and then set a goal. The app says how many calories or macronutrients are needed to reach that goal, using gamelike elements such as badges, streaks, rewards, points and notifications to encourage user engagement.<\/p>\n Many nutrition tracking apps are free but offer premium versions that users must pay for.<\/p>\n