Many were along the lines of Anna Sweeney, a certified eating disorders registered dietician, who Tweeted: I thought that I hated Weight Watchers. I have not hated them as much as I do right now. Making weight loss trendy for children is making the development of eating disorders easier and trendier. I am not here for this.

Nobody disagrees that childhood obesity is an issue; a little more than 18 percent of kids in the US are obese, according to the CDC. But tackling it with an app targeted to kids? We called nutritionists and childhood obesity experts to get their take.

The app uses a stoplight approach in an effort to move kids toward eating more healthy foods, which come up in the app as green, meaning you can eat lots of them. Yellow are good for you in moderate portions, and red light should make you stop and think. Kids are encouraged to track what they eatthey can see as soon as they type it in what color the food is; some foods become red when portion sizes increase.

I know theyre trying to say that you dont have to cut foods out, says Abby Langer, RD, of Abby Langer Nutrition , whos concerned about kids learning to categorize foods as good or bad. When you market a healthy eating program to kids as young as 8, youd better be sure your messaging is all about healthy eating and not about dont eat this or that, she says.

My understanding is that theyre focusing on other healthy behaviors including stress management and sleep, says Jenny Favret, LDN, a registered dietitian at Duke Pediatrics Healthy Lifestyles Program. I think theyre saying the right things, but tracking is a little worrisome for me. Any time were tracking anything with kids, we have to be really careful. Ive been doing this for enough years that when kids become too hyperfocused on what theyre tracking, it can begin to feel like a diet.

While the claim is that this is all about health, not weight, the details suggest otherwise, says David L. Katz, M.D., founder of the True Health Initiative and author of The Truth About Food. Every 'success' story highlighted on the Kurbo site is measured in pounds lost, or BMI reduction. I think WW is wrestling with an existential conflict. They really are, to their very foundations, a weight loss companyeverything ever built until now has been about that. They now want to be a wellness company, but that's a difficult pivot when success to date has always been measured in pounds lost.

But maybe all the furor over the app has the benefit of helping you look at how youre eating, too. To Mohrs point, how many of us are doing this: Play. Eat. Sleep. Have fun? Food for thought.