Opinion | ‘It’s the Way We Were All Born Eating’

Of course, for people who are low-income and food-insecure, the first priority with intuitive eating is simply getting access to enough food on a consistent basis. A pediatric dietitian, Ellyn Satter, developed a “hierarchy of food needs” to illustrate how essential it is to simply have enough food, and reliable access to that food, before even beginning to think about nutrition.

As for how to help a child with diabetes and fatty liver disease: Those conditions can be treated without ever prescribing weight loss, and research has linked intuitive eating to a lower risk of diabetes and other chronic health issues.

Kate, California: Like many girls, I grew up with tremendous body image issues despite not technically being overweight. When I was 13 I discovered a diet book of my mother’s that promoted a 1,200-calorie-a-day diet. Thanks to the calorie analysis feature on Microsoft Encarta, I became obsessed with counting calories. All my anxieties about growing up and achieving were easily funneled into calories and grams of fat.

Thus began a 15-year struggle with extreme restrictive eating and bulimia. Weight Watchers should be ashamed, and I hope that eating disorder advocacy groups are up in arms. Parents, do not open this Pandora’s box. Emphasize good, fresh, wholesome food, long walks in nature and a healthy body image.

Harrison: I’m so sorry to hear about your struggles and, sadly, you’re not alone. My colleagues and I see people every day whose disordered eating patterns began with calorie counting, avoiding “bad” foods and other dieting behaviors that are billed as healthy lifestyle changes. The eating disorder treatment community is definitely up in arms; many of my colleagues and I have been making the rounds in the media, speaking out against targeting children with weight-loss programs. And the National Eating Disorders Association issued a statement against Kurbo.

“Asking kids to closely monitor and self-report everything they eat … presents grave risks, including eating disorders, disordered eating and a potential lifetime of weight cycling and poor body image,” according to NEDA’s statement. “An app-based program that emphasizes and celebrates weight loss is risky for this vulnerable population of children and adolescents at a time when their bodies are undergoing significant changes and are especially susceptible to harm.”