Hot Take: Health Class Food and Calorie Tracking Assignments Do More Harm Than Good (Here’s How Parents Can Intervene)
By Dr. Colleen Reichmann, Owner and Clinical Director of Wildflower Therapy
It’s about that time of year again isn’t it? (Sighs in tired, eating disorder therapist) What time, you ask? Oh, just the time when the same old, outdated, and frankly harmful homework assignment starts making the rounds at high schools across the country. You know, the one where students are asked to track their caloric intake and food for the week? Yeah. Let’s talk about it….
Every year as students settle into new routines, our inbox at Wildflower Therapy starts to fill with the same message from worried parents of our clients:
“Their health class is requiring them to track everything they eat for a week and count calories. What should I do?”
These parents often anxious-sometimes even panicked-about what this assignment could mean for their child who has a history of an eating disorder. And their concern is absolutely justified. But in our opinion, this food tracking assignment isn’t just risky for our clients- it’s risky for all kids!
At first glance, a food-tracking assignment might seem harmless. The intent (usually) is to help students “learn about nutrition” and make “healthy choices.” But in practice, these projects can be deeply harmful, especially for adolescents, because they are at one of the most vulnerable developmental stages for the onset of eating disorders.
In this post, we’ll explore why these assignments are so risky, how they can inadvertently trigger or reinforce disordered eating, and what educators can do instead to help students understand nutrition in a way that’s truly balanced and protective. We’ll also share a ready-to-use email template for parents who would like to request an alternative assignment for their child.
Why Food Tracking Assignments Are So Harmful for Adolescents
1. Adolescence Is a Critical Window for Body Image Development
The middle and high school years are a period of profound change. Adolescents are adjusting to rapidly shifting bodies, social comparison, and an increased sense of self-awareness. They are also absorbing powerful messages from peers, media, and even well-intentioned adults about what it means to be “healthy” or “good.”
As eating disorder therapists in Philadelphia, we see firsthand how these developmental pressures can collide with experiences in the classroom. A simple instruction to “log your food and calories” can ignite (or worsen) body dissatisfaction, obsessive thoughts about food, or guilt after eating.
Research consistently shows that dieting and calorie counting in adolescence are strong predictors of disordered eating later on. There is no question here about how risky dieting it- it has been solidly proven as the number one predictor of eating disorders. In fact, one study found that teens who dieted were five times more likely to develop an eating disorder than their non-dieting peers.
So when a school assignment directly encourages calorie tracking, it’s not a stretch to say it’s playing with fire.
2. Food Tracking Reinforces a Dangerous Message: That Worth Is Tied to Control
Most food-tracking assignments emphasize “awareness” or “balance.” But for young people, especially those with perfectionistic or anxious tendencies, these lessons can quickly morph into something rigid and self-critical. What starts as a “nutrition project” can become a week of restriction, guilt, and self-monitoring.
For students predisposed to eating disorders, this can be a dangerous first step down a very slippery slope. Even for those without a predisposition, the assignment teaches a distorted message: that eating is something to be monitored and controlled, rather than a natural, intuitive, and responsive process. Food becomes numbers. Meals become math. And bodies become projects.
3. Calorie-Focused Education Misses the Point of True Nutrition
The truth is, nutrition cannot be boiled down to numbers. Calories tell us nothing about nourishment, satisfaction, or the emotional and social aspects of eating. They say nothing about how a warm meal shared with friends can heal, or how cultural foods connect us to heritage and belonging.
When we teach adolescents to evaluate food only through calories, we reduce eating to a transaction (and one that ignores both body cues and emotional well-being).
Gentle nutrition-a concept from the intuitive eating framework-offers a far more nuanced and compassionate approach. It encourages kids (and adults) to notice how different foods make them feel, how meals fit into their day, and how all foods can fit into a balanced life. Now that’s the kind of health education that actually promotes lifelong well-being.
4. These Assignments Exclude and Stigmatize
Many students who complete these projects are living with realities that make food tracking not just harmful, but also inequitable. Some have limited access to food due to financial insecurity. Others have medical conditions or neurodivergent sensory preferences that affect eating. And many come from families where diet culture has already caused harm.
Assignments that ask students to “evaluate” their food intake often invite judgment of themselves and others. They implicitly reward those who can demonstrate “healthy eating” according to narrow (and often culturally biased) standards. The result? Shame, exclusion, and a subtle but powerful reinforcement of hierarchy and bias.
As one of our Wildflower therapists often tells clients:
“Food assignments may intend to teach health, but they often (mostly?) just end up teaching shame.”
What Students Actually Learn from These Assignments
We’ve worked with many clients who can trace the roots of their disordered eating back to a classroom experience. The language is hauntingly similar across stories:
“That assignment made me start thinking about how much I was eating for the first time.”
“I compared my food log to my friends’ and started feeling bad about mine.”
“It was supposed to be about learning nutrition, but I just learned how to eat less.”
These are not rare anecdotes. They are common and preventable.
The Ripple Effects on Mental Health and School Performance
Eating disorders are not a niche issue. They are among the deadliest mental illnesses, second only to opioid overdose. And they often begin in adolescence. Even when a full-blown eating disorder doesn’t develop, disordered eating can lead to anxiety, depression, obsessive thinking, and decreased academic concentration. A student who’s suddenly preoccupied with food and body image isn’t learning effectively. They’re distracted, anxious, and disconnected from peers. Ironically, the very assignment meant to promote “health” can end up undermining it on every level.
A Better Way: How Schools Can Teach Gentle, Inclusive Nutrition
It’s entirely possible for schools to teach nutrition in a way that fosters curiosity and self-care instead of fear and restriction. Here are some ways educators can reimagine these lessons:
1. Teach How Bodies Work, Not What to Restrict
Help students understand hunger cues, fullness, and energy needs during growth spurts. Encourage awareness of how bodies regulate themselves, rather than suggesting that control must come from the outside.
2. Explore the Cultural and Emotional Meaning of Food
Food is about connection, community, and tradition. Invite students to share favorite family meals or explore foods from different cultures. This creates inclusion and respect instead of comparison and shame.
3. Introduce the Concept of Gentle Nutrition
Gentle nutrition teaches that no single food or meal defines health. Students can learn that balanced eating happens over time, and that satisfaction, energy, and pleasure are part of nourishment. Students can also learn about how “over eating” is a natural part of the human food experience that will happen as we interact with food at certain points, and that this experience need not involve shame.
4. Discuss Media Literacy and Body Image
Instead of counting calories, help students unpack how advertising, social media, and diet culture distort our understanding of “health.” Critical thinking here can be life-changing and life-saving.
5. Include Mental Health in Every Health Curriculum
If the goal is wellness, mental health must be central. Students should learn that self-worth is not tied to weight, shape, or food choices, and that help is available if eating or body image becomes stressful.
For Parents: How to Advocate for Your Child
If your child’s school assigns food tracking or calorie counting, you have every right to request an alternative assignment. You can do so respectfully and effectively. Below is an email template you can copy and personalize.
📧 Parent Email Template: Requesting an Alternative Assignment
Subject: Alternative Assignment Request for [Child’s Name]
Hello (teachers name),
My child (name) is in [Class/Grade], and I am writing to you today to express my concern regarding a recent calorie tracking assignment that she told me was given in your health class.
I understand the intent behind this assignment is good, but I am still very concerned about the potential impact that it can have. There is research that shows that this type of tracking and logging can unintentionally trigger disordered eating habits (for both kids and adults).
We have a family history of eating disorders (*only add this if you do/want to share*) so I am constantly trying to keep my eye on things that might be a risk factor for her. But actually, disordered eating is a significant public health issue and should be something that we are tracking with all kids. (Over 22% of children and adolescents show signs of it, and children are 242 times more likely to develop an eating disorder than type 2 diabetes!)
In order to ensure [Child's Name] is supported in her development of a healthy relationship with food and exercise, I’d like to request an alternative assignment for her. I would love an option that still supports the overall goals of the curriculum, but avoids the focus on calorie counting or food tracking, and am more than happy to meet to get creative and discuss some ideas for what that could look like!
Thank you for understanding and for the work you do to support your students’ overall well-being. Please let me know how we can best move forward.
Warmly,
[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information]
A Note to Educators
If you’re an educator reading this, please know: this is not about blame. Most teachers who assign food tracking do so with good intentions. You want your students to thrive! You want to empower them to make healthy choices.
But we now know that calorie-tracking assignments can unintentionally do harm. Updating these practices is not a critique, it’s an act of compassion, advocacy, and care.
You have immense power to shape how young people think about food and their bodies. By removing assignments that invite self-surveillance and replacing them with lessons that honor nourishment and diversity, you can become a force for genuine, sustainable wellness.
A Note to Students
If you’re a student feeling uneasy about a food-tracking project, please know you are not overreacting. Your discomfort makes sense. You deserve an education that supports your relationship with food and your body. It’s okay to ask for an alternative. It’s okay to talk to a parent, counselor, or trusted teacher about your concerns.
If the assignment has already stirred anxiety or self-critical thoughts, you don’t have to carry that alone. You also don’t have to just “take a 0.” Advocating for yourself AND reaching out for help is a brave and powerful step.
When to Seek Support
If your child has begun to show signs of distress around food, eating, or body image, it may be time to reach out for professional support. Early intervention is key, and eating disorder therapy can help individuals restore a sense of trust, safety, and peace with food and their bodies.
At Wildflower Therapy in Philadelphia, we specialize in eating disorder treatment in Philadelphia, offering compassionate, evidence-based care for children, adolescents, adults, and families. Our team of therapists helps clients heal from disordered eating, diet culture pressures, and body shame, so they can reconnect with joy, nourishment, and self-compassion.
If you’re looking for eating disorder therapists in person near Philadelphia or on the Main Line, we’d be honored to support you. We also see people virtually if they reside anywhere in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Massechusetts, Vermont, Ohio, South Carolina, and Florida. You can learn more about our approach here, or schedule a free consultation here.
Final Thoughts: Let’s Teach the Right Lessons
Schools have an incredible opportunity to influence how the next generation understands health. But that influence must be handled with care. When health education teaches self-criticism, surveillance, and fear of food, it does the opposite of what it intends.
When it teaches curiosity, body respect, and gentle nourishment, it plants the seeds of lifelong well-being. It’s time to retire food-tracking assignments once and for all, and replace them with something better, kinder, and more human.
At Wildflower Therapy, we believe that true health education should leave students feeling empowered, not ashamed; connected, not compared; nourished, not restricted.
Let’s work together: parents, teachers, and therapists- to make that vision a reality.
Wildflower Therapy | Eating Disorder Therapy in Philadelphia, PA
Helping individuals and families heal their relationships with food and body.