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What's up with the Database and Food Log?

There are several threads from a good number of folks who are attempting add food items to the database via the scan and take three picture method.

There’s a lot of follow up regarding the length of time it takes, as most have yet to see their items enter the database.

I've noticed the same lack of action on all the items I’ve entered. It's beyond irritating, and what is particularly galling is that I, and in most all cases folks are scanning healthy items that supplement a healthy lifestyle, workout, or activity and getting no traction.

In one case I “added” Nuzest Clean Lean Protein as did another user, but months later, nothing.

Yet there's an abundance of extremely unhealthy food in the database, for example, Outback's Bloomin' Onion. What sort of dissonance exists at Fitbit thinking a person who tracks food, weight, sleep and exercise needs a Bloomin' Onion or a Red Robin Bacon Cheeseburger while simple unprocessed foods and healthy options are not only underrepresented but not added, not only in a timely way, but apparently not at all.

 

Has anyone had an item entered into the database after completing the process?

 

It is also not possible to choose some very basic foods in the existing database without a modifier such as a store name or restaurant, my vegetables nutritional makeup is not dependent upon or changed by a vendor, so having Green Beans as 40 separate entries by vendor is pointless and inefficient.

On the Community page under the category "Eat Well" a user asks “describe your “typical” breakfast”, and over 600 people answered. I read through several hundred of those responses.

Every single person described a pretty healthy breakfast. Eggs fried in butter was as crazy as it got.

Yet if you search the database for breakfast items, the entire menu at IHOP is on it. Chili’s menu too, Denny’s, McDonalds, Applebee’s, and Dominos are all there in their entirety.

Incredible as that may be, according to several studies, all a quick Googling away, the unhealthiest foodstuffs you can drive up to the window and be handed in a bag are all there on the Fitbit database, KFC’s Chicken Pot Pie, Pizza Hut’s Triple Meat Pizza, Burger King’s Big King Sandwich and more.

You won’t need a Fitbit, you’ll need a cardiologist on speed dial.

It’s apparent that Fitbit is selling the database real estate to food conglomerates.

While this makes navigation annoying (to be polite), it’s a revenue stream they certainly won’t give up, no matter the illogic of these items to their user base. I've been reading the threads and comments, this is a thoughtful and generally healthy group. 

Clearly, money is more important than user experience to Fitbit, we’ll see how that works out for them. Although if we have to be inundated by garbage, it would be decent of them to actually add the items that people use and are going to the trouble of trying to add.

Good news though, I just burned 200 calories ranting.

 

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2 REPLIES 2

I totally agree with your post.  The food log is CLOGGED with unhealthy food and healthy items that are scanned or added don't show up or are so deeply covered with "junk" food they are difficult to find again.  Example, when search raspberries, these are the first 5 "most popular" results:  Raspberry Pie (One Crust), Raspberry Danish Pastry, Raspberry Pie (Two Crust), Raspberry Cream Pie, Raspberry Flavoured drink.  I even scanned my raspberry package hoping it would come up more easily.  Nope.  Is this a health app or a junk food app?  In fact, for this search, fresh, organic raspberries is 14th on the list.  Seriously.  Other whole foods and healthy foods get the same sort of results.  If one is looking to improve their health, eating pastries, pie and drinks with artificial flavours will not help - at all.  Surely there is a way to amend the log search function to prioritize healthy, whole, nutritious food ahead of the junk that is keeping many people fat and unhappy with their health.  

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@CKDexterHaven - pretty good rant, and take that from somebody who loves to get a good rant on.

 

But, aren't you being a bit preachy and moralistic?  First of all, people need to log what they actually eat, not what you would have them eat.  Do you think that censoring foods that you disapprove of would have any affect on what people eat?  "Whoa, I better not eat this Twinkie because it's not in the Fitbit database."

 

I'd argue that people who eat "unhealthy" foods have the most to gain by logging their eating and facing the music.  But, you would take that away from them, because their current choices offend your sensibilities?  So, people who are currently unhealthy just need to stay away, die fast, and not pollute the purity of the food database?  Or maybe, we'll let them use it once they apologize, admit the error of their ways, and self-flagellate?

 

Also, 100% of the food items I've entered in the database as custom foods are available for me to log in the future.  This works for me because I'm only concerned with tracking MY eating, not telling others what they should eat, or preventing them from tracking THEIR eating.

 

I am fairly delusional in my paranoia, but I must say you may have outdone even myself when you contend that Fitbit is selling database real estate to food conglomerates and purveyors of "unhealthy" foods.  Why would food chains pay anything for it given that people who log their eating tend to reduce their consumption of junk food?  The value of having those items in the database accrues to Fitbit's users, and therefore Fitbit, so if any money flows, it should be from Fitbit to the evil, capitalistic,  profit-oriented, straight-white-male-hiring, non-apologizing, vegan-slapping, restaurant chains.  Seriously, is there any evidence that Fitbit sells food database real estate to anyone, much less to companies that would not benefit from it?  Let me guess, you don't work in the private sector?

 

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but our culture is becoming infested with busy-bodies that would tell others how to live, without having their own houses in order, and poking their noses into other people's business.  We need to take every opportunity to punch those noses.  Plus, gotta keep the rant going!

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