The Google Maps app came with a new feature a while ago. This new function promoted a healthier lifestyle by trying to determine users to walk more. Google showed people exactly how many calories they would burn if they walked. However, this new feature was quite controversial and the app removed it recently.
People burn calories in different ways
While the initiative was great, many users complained about the way Google decided to do this. This feature used mini cupcakes in order to show you how many calories you burn, since this dessert should have around 110 calories.
The reason why this new function was criticised is because calorie counting is not an exact science and Google’s attempt to put things into perspective failed because people burn calories differently. There are many factors that can influence this process, including the age of a person, the weight or the height. Therefore, there is no way Google Maps could have calculated this precisely for every user.
Calorie counting cannot be precise
Google Maps got another thing wrong as well. It has been proved that you can’t know exactly how many calories a certain food has. That is because scientists can only measure the amount of energy that a food can offer. However, your body might not take all that energy and that is because certain foods are harder to digest and digestive systems work differently.
Google Maps removed this feature
After some users complained about the flaws of this method, Google Maps decided to pull this feature. It is a good thing that the app tried to encourage health and exercising, but this thing should be done more carefully and more research is needed before releasing a feature like that.