MyFitnessPal Eating Disorder Contribution Study
Peer-reviewed study found 73% of eating disorder patients who used MyFitnessPal (105 participants) perceived it as contributing to their disorder. Calorie tracking and exercise logging features enabled and reinforced disordered behaviors.
AI System
MyFitnessPal
Under Armour (acquired 2015)
Reported
June 15, 2017
Jurisdiction
International
Platform Type
other
What Happened
A 2017 peer-reviewed study examined the relationship between MyFitnessPal usage and eating disorder behaviors among 105 participants currently or previously diagnosed with eating disorders. Key finding: 73% of participants perceived MyFitnessPal as contributing to their eating disorder. The app's features that enabled harmful behaviors included: (1) Detailed calorie tracking encouraging obsessive food monitoring, (2) Exercise logging with calorie burn calculations enabling compensatory exercise, (3) Weight tracking reinforcing unhealthy weight goals, (4) Community features where users could compare restrictive behaviors, (5) Numerical feedback creating gamification of calorie restriction. Participants reported the app provided structure and validation for disordered eating patterns, made it easier to hide behaviors from family (tracking on phone vs. visible food diaries), and created anxiety when unable to log meals accurately. While MyFitnessPal was designed as a health and fitness tool, its features proved particularly harmful to individuals vulnerable to eating disorders. The study documented how algorithmic calorie tracking systems, even when not explicitly AI-powered, can reinforce eating disorder behaviors through design. Following publication and media coverage, MyFitnessPal added eating disorder warnings but did not fundamentally change features that enable harmful use.
AI Behaviors Exhibited
Calorie tracking enabling obsessive monitoring; exercise logging enabling compensatory behaviors; weight tracking reinforcing unhealthy goals; community features enabling comparison; numerical gamification of restriction
How Harm Occurred
Design features optimized for restriction enable ED behaviors; portability (phone app) enables hiding from family; numerical feedback creates compulsion; community reinforces disordered norms; no detection of harmful usage patterns
Outcome
Academic publication 2017. App continues operating with ED warnings added but core features unchanged.
Harm Categories
Contributing Factors
Victim
105 study participants with eating disorders
Detectable by NOPE
While MyFitnessPal predates modern AI companions, demonstrates how tracking and algorithmic features can enable eating disorder behaviors. NOPE Oversight-style pattern detection could identify harmful usage (extreme restriction, compensatory exercise) and provide intervention before disorder progression.
Cite This Incident
APA
NOPE. (2017). MyFitnessPal Eating Disorder Contribution Study. AI Harm Tracker. https://nope.net/incidents/2017-myfitnesspal-ed-contribution
BibTeX
@misc{2017_myfitnesspal_ed_contribution,
title = {MyFitnessPal Eating Disorder Contribution Study},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2017},
howpublished = {AI Harm Tracker},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2017-myfitnesspal-ed-contribution}
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