Want to Feel Insulted, Ladies? The "Hey Fattie" App is For You

There are plenty of apps geared toward health, fitness, and weight loss, from calorie-counters to nutrition facts and fitness pals. But this new mobile application called "Hey Fattie" is promoting weight loss through more unconventional methods.

According to The Huffington Post, "Hey Fattie" prompts women to shed the pounds by presenting "hot" anime men who dish insults at them until they feel insecure enough to shed the pounds. The app, a creation of Creative Freaks and Visual Works, was actually derived from Nenshou!, an almost identical weight-loss app created for men.

Could this be an effective weight loss method, or should it be characterized as abusive and a new form of fat-shaming? 

We have seen some very questionable apps as well as mobile to-do manuals covering everything from tracking your period to learning how to masturbate. "Hey Fattie" might have just surpassed all the rest. 

The app capitalizes on the most sensitive aspects of female body-image issues. "Hey Fattie" reiterates the societal pressure that skinny is beautiful. But if women did not know this already from representations in the media and advertisements, they'll certainly believe it coming from the mouths of a bunch of anime hotties. Plus, if females cannot motivate themselves to lose weight, then certainly judgments and comments from a man should do the trick.

Rather than promote weight loss through encouragement, "Hey Fattie" uses the power of the insult, implying that the easiest way for women to lose weight is through "some healthy abuse." 

The strangest aspect of the app, however, is that ladies can develop a whole relationship with their cartoon motivators. As you get thinner, you move closer to achieving a cyber relationship with your personal weight-loss coach. As put by Jezebel, the app transports women into "a pocket-sized abusive relationship." Hmm...

This semi-abusive, degrading, and poorly designed app is definitely one to avoid.