The makers of Noom, an app-based diet, want you to know they’ve got you covered. By offering personal health coaching and a chat-based community, Noom eliminates the creeping fear we all face when starting a new diet: going it alone. With a personal coach and nutrition plan, the app provides motivation and professional guidance for users to make easy lifestyle changes on their own. But some questions remain. Will it help you lose weight? What are its downsides? Are the diet coaches available 24/7, like when you need an emergency voice of reason to steer you clear of that oatmeal cookie? In this detailed guide, we answer all these questions and more. For the purposes of this guide, we’ll be discussing Noom Weight. Here’s how it works. After downloading the app, you’ll be asked a series of questions about your current weight, your weight or fitness goals, and what your past experiences with dieting and weight loss have been like. On the basis of this information, you’ll receive a 16-week plan, which includes education, interactive challenges, food and exercise logging and calorie budgeting, as well as a one-on-one coach to help you reach your personal goals. Over 16 weeks, you’ll be asked to document your fitness activities and food intake — normal weight loss app stuff. But Noom then takes its process to the next level by encouraging users to read daily nutrition and health articles (and take quizzes after) to encourage lifestyle changes. It also helps users distinguish healthy foods from not-so-healthy foods by color-coding your food entries — “bad” foods are labeled with red, and “good” foods are labeled with green. Last, Noom connects you with all 47 million users on the app, so you’re able to chat with and support each other. Noom programs are broken down into stages, and while different programs have different stages, each generally follows the same structure: a core phase where users work with coaches to build up the baseline skills they need, followed by a maintenance phase that involves refining those skills and integrating them in your daily routine. Angela Lemond, RDN, a dietitian based in Plano, Texas, says Noom is one of the newest weight loss approaches she’s seen. She likens Noom to WW (Weight Watchers) because of its personal coaching component. (WW offers in-person personal coaching, while Noom offers it virtually.) That similarity may be why Noom claims to be the “Weight Watchers for millennials.” “The program is built on the concept of teaching people correct information by trusted sources. It’s like you’re going to school for six months,” he says. “You learn the basics, go practice, and coaches trained in behavior change psychology help translate how those skills relate to everyday life.” Convenience, anonymity, and 24-hour accessibility are just a few reasons why telemedicine for weight loss is so popular. Web-based programs also help alleviate the strain that in-person treatment for obesity puts on the healthcare system. But telemedicine has its downsides, too. Comparing digital and offline health interventions in overweight adults, one study found improvements in short-term, but not long-term, weight loss. Lemond says she can’t speak to the safety of Noom, but she points out that the app’s “goal specialists” aren’t all registered dietitians, meaning that they haven’t followed an accrediting agency’s educational program, which requires a minimum of an undergraduate degree in nutrition, completion of a yearlong internship, and a passing grade on a nationally standardized exam. Instead, Noom’s goal specialists complete custom training through what the company calls Noomiversity. The National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC) certifies the training program, which involves four weeks of lessons based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a type of psychotherapy that can help people become more aware of their thinking and habit patterns. “By learning to identify the behavior chains (trigger, thought, action, consequence) behind their unhealthy habits, users gain a better understanding of where they struggle and where they can make positive change,” says Meghan Wood, the senior director of coaching for Noom. Regardless, Lemond emphasizes the importance of clearing any weight loss program, including Noom, with your primary care provider before you dive in. Importantly, if you have a history of an eating disorder, your healthcare team should be informed you’re trying Noom. Its labeling of foods as “good” and “bad” may be triggering. And if you’re pregnant, following any weight loss diet can be dangerous. The takeaway is that Noom doesn’t appear to work if you aren’t motivated. Because Noom is based on lifestyle changes, it requires you to put in daily work and continue those changes even after the 16 weeks — whether that means documenting your every morsel or reading up on (and studying) nutrition tips. Also, your health coach is only available during business hours, so you’ll have to face down those midnight munchies on your own. One important thing to keep in mind is that many of these studies were authored by Andreas Michaelides, Noom’s chief psychology officer. That doesn’t mean the findings aren’t valid, but the company does benefit when the research concludes with favorable outcomes. Is this the most effective way to measure how much you’re eating? Lemond argues that when it comes to health and weight loss, calories are only one piece of the puzzle. “Calories and quality (nutrient density plus wholesomeness) all play a part in determining if a food is an ‘always’ or a ‘sometimes’ choice,” she says. Amy Gorin, RDN, a dietitian based in New York City, agrees that categorizing foods into “good” and “bad” choices may not be the best way to moderate food consumption. “I’m a believer that most foods in moderation can fit into a healthy diet plan,” Gorin says. “I wouldn’t want a client to feel bad about having, say, an occasional cappuccino made with whole-fat milk if it fits into an overall balanced diet for that individual.” Carolyn Williams, PhD, RD, a dietitian based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, tested the Noom app for about a month in 2018, and was surprised at how well it compared with more-established diet plans like WW. Ease of use, personalized programs, and the emphasis on the psychology behind forming healthy habits were some of the appeals for Dr. Williams, but she says the app’s weakness is in the food guidance program. She says people who want to lose weight generally need a bit more direction than the green, yellow, and red categories provide, and the database for logging food was also limited. “Technically it’s a diet program, but food was one of the least emphasized areas,” Williams says. “As a consumer, if I truly had significant weight to lose I’d want a little more guidance on what to eat.” Additional reporting by Anna Brooks.
