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"It's Definitely Been a Journey": A Qualitative Study on How Women with Eating Disorders Use Weight Loss Apps

Authors:

Elizabeth V. Eikey and

Madhu C. ReddyAuthors Info & Claims

CHI '17: Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

May 2017

Pages 642 - 654

https://doi.org/10.1145/3025453.3025591

Published: 02 May 2017 Publication History

Abstract

Technology is often viewed as either positive or negative. On one hand, in HCI, weight loss apps are usually seen as a positive influence on users. From the sociocultural perspective, on the other hand, media and technology negatively impact body satisfaction and contribute to eating disorders; however, these studies fail to include weight loss apps. While these apps can be beneficial to users, they can also have negative effects on users with eating disorder behaviors. Yet few research studies have looked at weight loss apps in relation to eating disorders. In order to fill this gap, we conducted interviews with 16 women with a history of eating disorders who use(d) weight loss apps. While our findings suggest these apps can contribute to and exacerbate eating disorder behaviors, they also reveal a more complex picture of app usage. Women's use and perceptions of weight loss apps shift as they experience life and move to and from stages of change. This research troubles the binary view of technology and emphasizes the importance of looking at technology use as a dynamic process. Our study contributes to our understanding of weight loss app design.

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Index Terms

"It's Definitely Been a Journey": A Qualitative Study on How Women with Eating Disorders Use Weight Loss Apps
1. Human-centered computing

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cover image ACM Conferences

CHI '17: Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

May 2017

7138 pages

ISBN:9781450346559

DOI:10.1145/3025453

General Chairs:
Gloria Mark
University of California Irvine
,
Susan Fussell
Cornell University
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Program Chairs:
Cliff Lampe
University of Michigan
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m.c. schraefel
University of Southampton
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Juan Pablo Hourcade
University of Iowa
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Caroline Appert
Université Paris-Sud
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Daniel Wigdor
University of Toronto

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Published: 02 May 2017

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Cited By

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3643834.3661521
Aubin Le Quéré MTran LBerger ANguyen CVenkatesan RXu YSorokina ANaaman M(2024)An Article a Day: Towards Personal Informatics for Healthy News ConsumptionExtended Abstracts of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613905.3650854(1-9)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613905.3650854
Staab PWilliams ARobertson MSlovak P(2024)“Can you be with that feeling?”: Extending Design Strategies for Interoceptive Awareness for the Context of Mental HealthProceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3643054(1-21)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3643054
O'Neill DBirk MMandryk R(2024)Unpacking Norms, Narratives, and Nourishment: A Feminist HCI Critique on Food Tracking TechnologiesProceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642600(1-20)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Hu DLee S(2024)Exploring the Effectiveness of Time-lapse Screen Recording for Self-Reflection in Work ContextProceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642469(1-14)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Jakob RLepper NFleisch EKowatsch T(2024)Predicting early user churn in a public digital weight loss interventionProceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642321(1-16)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Barth CBernard JHuang E(2024)"It's like a glimpse into the future": Exploring the Role of Blood Glucose Prediction Technologies for Type 1 Diabetes Self-ManagementProceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642234(1-21)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Boldi ASilacci ABoldi MCherubini MCaon MZufferey NHuguenin KRapp A(2024)Exploring the impact of commercial wearable activity trackers on body awareness and body representationsComputers in Human Behavior10.1016/j.chb.2023.108036151:COnline publication date: 4-Mar-2024
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Kabir KWiese J(2023)A Meta-Synthesis of the Barriers and Facilitators for Personal Informatics SystemsProceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies10.1145/36108937:3(1-35)Online publication date: 27-Sep-2023
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Rapp ABoldi A(2023)Exploring the Lived Experience of Behavior Change Technologies: Towards an Existential Model of Behavior Change for HCIACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction10.1145/360349730:6(1-50)Online publication date: 25-Sep-2023
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