Popular calorie-counting and exercise-tracking apps often trigger feelings of guilt, frustration, and shame in users, which can undermine their motivation and negatively affect their health. Researchers at University College London came to this conclusion after analyzing more than 58,000 tweets about five popular fitness apps. The study was published in the British Journal of Health Psychology (BJHP).
The researchers used artificial intelligence to filter out nearly 14,000 posts with negative reviews. The analysis found that users often feel shame over "unhealthy" food choices, irritation over constant calorie alerts, and frustration over slow progress. Sometimes this leads to giving up on apps and their fitness goals entirely.
“We've found a lot of posts where people blame themselves and feel like they're not trying hard enough. Such emotions may actually be harmful to motivation and health, rather than helpful," explained study leader Dr. Paulina Bondaronek of the Institute for Health Informatics.
According to him, apps too often focus on strict calorie counting and numerical goals, ignoring the psychological state of users.
"Instead of narrow success criteria like weight loss, we should focus on overall well-being and enjoyment of being active," he added.
Scientists have noted that strict goals and "lines" (eg, daily reports without interruption) often cause anxiety and burnout. Some posts showed how motivation turned into compulsion. One user admitted that he went to the gym feeling "sadly overstuffed" to "fix" his diet, in other words, he worked out out of guilt rather than pleasure.
Scientists are urging developers to rethink their approach, focusing less on numbers and calories and more on emotional well-being and support.
"Too often we use self-control as our main tool. We must learn to be kinder to ourselves. Shame doesn't motivate, it destroys," Dr. Bondaronec concluded.
Translation:Euromedia24.com-in:
