Kurbo
| Initial release | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Repository | kurbo |
| Operating system | Android. iOS and web |
| Type | Diet and nutrition |
| Website | kurbo |
Kurbo is a digital therapeutics program focused on sustainable healthy eating for children and teenagers.[1] The program tracks and manages nutrition, exercise and weight of adolescents. It operates through a mobile application and a website, providing health coaching from weight loss and behavior change professionals to tackle childhood obesity.[2][3]
Kurbo was acquired by WW International (formerly Weight Watchers) in August 2019[4] and continues to operate as a subsidiary of WW.
History
Kurbo was founded in July 2013 in Palo Alto, California by Joanna Strober, Mark Vershel and Thea Runyan. Strober had a teenage son who struggled with his weight. Unable to find a suitable weight loss program for children and teenagers, she collaborated with Runyan, who was a coach at the Pediatric Weight Control Program at Stanford Children’s Hospital, and Vershel to build a health and weight management program for adolescents.[5] The program is based on research on pediatric weight control and is licensed from Stanford University Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital pediatric obesity program.[6] It is known for its traffic light food classification system and portion sizing design.[7][8]
Functionality
Kurbo is designed to teach children how to manage their eating habits in an educational manner. It provides a single set of APIs for the mobile application and online program to track and access activity data of the users. It is accompanied by interaction with a health and behavioral coach who provide personalized suggestions, feedback and encouragement to the users.[9][10]
Studies and feedback
A pilot program in 2014 demonstrated that Kurbo improved engagement and helped children reduce their BMI percentile.[11] This study analyzed the effectiveness of Kurbo’s program and inferred that increased coaching sessions led to increased BMI reduction.[12]
A New York Times article by dietician Christy Harrison and a statement by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) opposed the use of the app raising concern over children’s diet and psychological implications.[13][14]
In the media
References
- ↑ Newman, Katelyn. "An App to Fight Childhood Obesity". US News. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ↑ Kendall, Marisa. "Palo Alto-based Kurbo Health tackles childhood obesity". The Mercury News. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- ↑ Mazziotta, Julie. "WW Launching Weight Loss Program for Kids and Teens". People (magazine). Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ↑ Borden, Olivia. "Weight Watchers Aims to Bring Digital Wellness to All". Medium (website). Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ↑ Perez, Sarah. "Kurbo Health Debuts A Mobile Service To Help Fight Childhood Obesity". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
- ↑ Baum, Stephanie. "Kurbo raises $5.8M to support launch of app to reduce childhood obesity". MedCity News. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
- ↑ Steinmetz, Katy. "Here's What Happened When A Woman Tried a Children's Weight Loss App". Time (magazine). Retrieved July 29, 2014.
- ↑ Shoot, Brittany. "Why Investors Are Banking on This App to Curb Childhood Obesity". Entrepreneur (magazine). Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Case Study: Fort Sill Army Base" (PDF). Kurbo.com.
- ↑ Jolly, Jennifer. "Tech to tame classroom bugs and bad habits". USA Today. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ↑ Baum, Stephanie. "Kurbo raises $5.8M to support launch of app to reduce childhood obesity". MedCity News. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
- ↑ Cueto, Victor; Wang, C Jason; Sanders, Lee Michael (15 November 2019). "Impact of a Mobile App–Based Health Coaching and Behavior Change Program on Participant Engagement and Weight Status of Overweight and Obese Children: Retrospective Cohort Study". JMIR mHealth and uHealth. pp. e14458. doi:10.2196/14458.
- ↑ Sole-Smith, Virginia. "A Weight Watchers App for Kids Raises Concerns". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ↑ "NEDA Statement on Kurbo by WW App". National Eating Disorders Association. 16 August 2019.
External links
- Kurbo on Twitter
- Kurbo on Instagram
- Kurbo on Facebook
- Kurbo's channel on YouTube
- Kurbo by WW (Weight Watchers Reimagined) – Apps on google play
- WW launches Kurbo, a hotly debated 'healthy eating' app
- Kurbo by WW Is a Weight-Loss App for Kids
- Kurbo by WW (Weight Watchers) on the App Store
- 'Kurbo' Is Dangerous. I Should Know — I Joined WW at 12
- For Healthy Kids, Skip the Kurbo App | US News
- Kurbo health coaching App Review - Common Sense Media
- Kurbo by WW takes on contentious childhood obesity challenge
- NEDA Statement on Kurbo by WW App | National Eating Disorders
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