Many people in the UK now use apps, smartwatches or wearable devices to track their physical activity. Fitness trackers promise to help users become fitter, happier and healthier versions of themselves. For many people, they can be useful: a nudge to move more, a way to notice patterns, or a reminder that activity does not have to happen in a gym.

But self-tracking devices do more than record behaviour. Through prompts, defaults, streaks, badges and automated feedback, they also shape it. There is good evidence that tracking can help some people become more active. But there are also growing reports of anxiety, shame and disordered eating among people who track closely.

This raises questions about how common these harms are and why they happen, which is what I have spent the past decade researching. Here are five reasons tracking can become harmful.

1. The fixation on steps

The 10,000-step target comes from a marketing slogan for a 1960s Japanese pedometer, and has no firm scientific basis as a universal target. Researchers continue to debate the ideal number, with some pointing to around 7,000 as a more realistic and beneficial target for many adults. Yet 10,000 steps remains widely treated as a badge of good health.

The trouble is that a single target cannot fit everyone. It can also distort what people think activity is worth. A tracker may misread wrist movement, or fail to capture cycling, swimming or strength training properly because these do not look like stepping.

This means trackers often privilege what they can easily count. Steps are visible, while strength work, mobility, Pilates, rehabilitation and recovery can appear less important, even though they may be exactly what someone needs. This can give users a skewed sense of what counts as worthwhile movement.

2. Movement loses its joy

The hardest part of becoming active is making it a habit that lasts. Chasing a target can work against that if it turns movement into a chore rather than something enjoyable. The point becomes closing a ring instead of noticing what your body can do.

Research suggests that repeatedly failing to meet goals can lead people to abandon both the device and the habits they were trying to build. Enjoyment helps habits stick, while external metrics can erode the internal motivation to move.

So the next time you head out, try leaving the numbers alone. Take a friend, put on a podcast, or call your mum. When you feel satisfied, go home. The activity still counts, and over time it may help you reach your goals without making the numbers the only measure of success.

3. The more-is-more approach

Many devices still make “more” feel like the default measure of success. The prompts are persistent, the summaries often feel like gentle reproaches, and the clearest currency is usually steps.

What this often misses is ability, skill and context. Do you know how much exercise you need? What kind of movement might cause injury? Can you interpret your own VO2 max data? These competencies are often taken for granted, but many people have never had the chance to build them.

Our research shows that people are most vulnerable to harm when they are left to manage with assumptions already made for them. They may hand their judgement over to the device and accept whatever it tells them. Yet the device may not know enough about whether you are recovering from illness, short on sleep, injured, newly active or pregnant to interpret today’s data safely.

4. The default user does not exist

Much of the design and marketing of these devices is aimed at a standard, average consumer. But research repeatedly shows that this person does not exist. We differ in our bodies, histories, goals and circumstances, so asking everyone to squeeze into the same mould is poor design.

The problem is the body imagined by the device: often able-bodied, non-pregnant, already confident with exercise and free to prioritise activity every day. Some defaults also follow narrow social norms, often built around male bodies, and amplify questionable ideas about health and beauty.

Think of BMI, which can penalise muscular bodies and treat perfectly healthy women’s bodies as problems to be solved. Similar assumptions can be baked into self-trackers when they nudge users towards weight loss by default or reinforce dated ideals about size and ability. At their worst, they can push some people towards over-exercising or under-eating, with real damage to body and mind.

5. It blames you when things go wrong

Sedentary living is a society-wide problem. Yet trackers often frame inactivity as a matter of individual willpower. That can draw attention away from the conditions that shape how much people move: safe streets, time, money, caring responsibilities, disability, local facilities and access to green space.

Many people report feeling pressure from the device. When life gets in the way of their targets, they may feel shame, failure, or give up altogether.

Research shows that people use these devices for a wide range of reasons and goals. That means support and personalisation are essential to making tracking safer. Devices should account for individual goals, experience and context rather than loading all responsibility onto the user, a familiar and unfair pattern across health and social care.

Some would call these harms unintended side effects. But they are also the predictable result of design choices that reward more, simplify health into scores and treat missed targets as personal failure.

For users, the first shift is to treat tracking as information rather than instruction. A watch can tell you what it has measured. It cannot tell you what your body needs today.

The bigger responsibility sits with developers. Trackers could place less emphasis on fixed step targets, make strength and non-step activity more visible, build in rest and recovery without guilt, and offer safer defaults for people with different bodies, abilities, health histories and goals.

None of this means abandoning the technology – it means refusing to let a made-up number decide whether movement has counted.

IT promises to be the biggest scrap in New York since Anthony Joshua was flattened in Madison Square Garden.

Or the titanic tussle between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in the ‘fight of the century’ back in 1971. And the fight to see who can land the knockout blow, will captivate football fans around the world.

Erling Haaland will be in the Norwegian corner. Looking to take down his hated rival from Brazil, in the shape of Gabriel in the yellow one.

Let’s hope no punches will be thrown this time, like the ones Andy Ruiz landed on Joshua to produce one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. But the verbal ones that have been exchanged between footballing heavyweights Haaland and Gabriel in recent times, have been damaging enough. It’s safe to say there is no love lost between these two.

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The feud started in the 2024/25 season, when Haaland scored a late equaliser for Manchester City against Arsenal, then three the ball at the back of Gabriel’s head.

“What happens on the football pitch stays there,” said Haaland. “That’s just how it is. It’s a battle, a war, so it’s normal to have provocative acts in football. It’s part of the game.”

The Arsenal man was furious however and Gabriel said he would be ‘waiting” for Haaland in the return fixture at the Emirates. He then celebrated like a mad man in Haaland’s face when Arsenal thumped Pep Guardiola’s side 5-1.

“I did it (the celebration) because he threw the ball at my head, to provoke him the way he provoked me. The moment we scored, he was right next to me, so I went straight to shouting in his ear.”

A seismic spat had been spawned.

Haaland continued it last season, singing “oh sometimes, I get a good feeling’ into the TV cameras after City had secured a huge 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Etihad. During the game, Gabriel had attempted to headbutt the City striker as things reached boiling point between the pair. He escaped a sending off when referee Anthony Taylor booked the pair instead and Haaland believed that his reaction saved his rival.

“I think it’s a red card,” he said post-match. “I think most agree with me. If I go down like any other guy, it’s a red card. It’s not something I would do. My father taught me to stay on your feet.

“That’s the reality. Should I have gone down? Maybe. Then it would’ve been easier. But I didn’t.”

Ultimately, Gabriel waited until the end of the campaign before responding.

And he hit hard, posting a video of himself lifting the Premier League trophy to background music of the same Flo Rida song Haaland had sung a few months ago.

The intense rivalry had now migrated from the pitch to social media. And now the footballing gods have decided to bring them back together again. This time face-to-face in New York, when the winner will book a place in the World Cup quarter finals – and the loser will go home.

The script is one Steven Spielberg himself might be proud of. A sporting blockbuster, being played out in the Big Apple instead of Hollywood.

Haaland heads into the contest in prime shape. He has scored five goals in three games, and is hot on the heels of Lionel Messi in the race to win the Golden Boot.

Haaland has also found the back of the net in his last 13 competitive games, scoring 25 in total.

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But Gabriel remains the rock around which Brazil’s defence is built. He might have missed the penalty which cost Arsenal the Champions League title in Budapest last month, but he has showed no signs of bringing a hangover to North America.

Whether Haaland likes it or not, Gabriel is one of the best centre backs on the planet. But then again, Haaland is one of the best strikers. If not THE best.

So buckle up to witness the collision between the irresistible force and immovable object. Something will have to give.

And the chances are that whoever blinks first, will get to hear about it from the person who made him do it.

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BEIJING (AP) — The pilot who flew a small plane into Beijing’s tallest building last week wrote in his diary about “ending his life,” Chinese authorities said Thursday.

Their investigation concluded that the cause of last Friday’s crash was “personal reasons,” according to a statement posted on social media by Beijing’s Chaoyang district government.

The pilot, a 66-year-old man, died and 13 other people were injured. None of the injuries are life-threatening and one of the injured has been discharged, the government statement said.

The crash, which happened in a downtown skyscraper district as people were leaving work around 6 p.m., raised questions about security in the Chinese capital. It left a hole in the glass facade of the 108-story CITIC tower, nicknamed the “Zun” building because it mimics the shape of an ancient wine vessel of that name.

The pilot, identified only by the surname Liu, first flew with someone else in the two-seat training plane, then took off on a solo flight from a general aviation airport in the outskirts of Beijing, the Chaoyang statement said. He deviated from the planned flight path and contact with him was lost, it said.

Liu had no fixed job, was divorced and lived alone, according to the statement. He had insomnia and anxiety and his diary had multiple references to ending his life, it said.

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his government coalition partners presented a comprehensive reform package Thursday with the goal of getting the country’s sluggish economy back on track.

The 34 reform measures include an income tax reform with tax cuts for low- and middle income families, an overhaul of the creaking pension system, tougher rules for employees’ sick leave and a reduction of the country’s stifling bureaucracy.

“These reforms all have one goal: We’re setting out into the future,” Merz said Thursday. “We’re strengthening ourselves so that we can live well in these new times.”

Merz’s coalition of center-right and center-left parties took office just over a year ago with pledges to reform and turn around Germany’s sluggish economy, Europe’s biggest. It has since become deeply unpopular, in part because of perceptions that it has squabbled but so far achieved little.

Merz is trying to cut his government coalition free from that negative reputation.

“From the very beginning, we set an agenda with a single goal in mind: We want to get Germany back on track. It is now clear that this is possible,” the conservative chancellor said.

Germany’s economy returned to modest growth last year after shrinking for two years in a row. The government expects underwhelming growth of 0.5% this year, a figure that has been pushed down by the fallout from the war in Iran.

The country of 83.5 million people already faced increasing competition from Chinese companies, higher energy costs following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and issues including U.S. President Donald Trump ’s tariffs and trade threats. On top of that, it has deeper problems such as high production costs, lagging private investment and increasingly costly health and pension systems caused by an aging population.

On Thursday, the government coalition leaders said that the tax cuts, once fully implemented in 2028, would give an annual tax break for a family with two working parents, two children and a total taxable income of 60,000 euros ($64,416) of up to more than 600 euros. The total tax relief provided by the reform amounts to approximately 10 billion euros per year.

The pension system reform would include raising the retirement age gradually in line with life expectancy. The coalition leaders said they would implement the recommendations presented by a government-mandated panel of experts and politicians last month to stabilize the pension system. The aim is to prevent the level of pensions from falling and ward off the need for a big, long-term increase of the levy employees pay into the pension system.

Phil Mickelson has forcefully denied allegations of inappropriate behavior toward women after a report claimed he was no longer welcome at several exclusive golf clubs.

In a statement issued Wednesday to the New York Post, representatives for the six-time major champion dismissed the allegations published by Skratch Golf as an “anonymously sourced drive-by shooting” designed to create “a compelling, click-bait narrative over an accurate one.”

The denial follows a Skratch Golf investigation alleging that Mickelson was barred from three California golf clubs for his conduct. The report also cited claims from Ashley Perez, the former wife of golfer Pat Perez, who alleged Mickelson showed her a nude photo of himself in 2015 and suggested she visit him after her husband had gone to sleep.

The allegations came weeks after Golf Digest reported that Mickelson’s membership at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe had been revoked over alleged nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact with a female club employee.

Skratch also reported, citing anonymous sources, that Mickelson is no longer welcome at The Madison Club in La Quinta and The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe, and alleged his wife, Amy Mickelson, played a role in the decisions.

Mickelson’s representatives denied the claims, saying, “Mr. Mickelson has never been expelled from a golf club. His membership has never been revoked by a golf club. Those decisions were his alone.”

His team also disputed Skratch’s account of his interaction with Ashley Perez, adding that while Mickelson had apologized for his conduct, “that should not be misconstrued as an admission of every allegation made against him.”

The statement further noted that Skratch is affiliated with the PGA Tour, which Mickelson left in 2022 to join the rival LIV Golf circuit, suggesting readers should consider that relationship when evaluating the report.

Skratch editor-in-chief Ben Boskovich rejected the criticism, telling the Post that Mickelson and his representatives were given an opportunity to respond before publication but declined. He said the outlet “stands by its reporting.”

Mickelson, 56, is one of golf’s most accomplished players, with six major championships and 45 PGA Tour victories.

When you’re hungry, it’s normal to find yourself thinking about what you’re going to eat next.

But for some people, thoughts of food and eating can feel constant – even when they’re not physically hungry. This experience has been termed “food noise”.

For someone who struggles with food noise, this might mean thinking repeatedly about the next meal, feeling distracted by snacks in the house or finding it hard to ignore food cues such as adverts or supermarket displays. The experience can be exhausting.

But food noise should not be taken to mean that every thought or craving for food is a problem. Hunger, fullness, cravings, anticipation of eating and pleasure from food are all normal parts of our appetite system.

The goal for people who struggle with food noise should not be to eliminate all food-related chatter from their lives. Rather, it’s about reducing the harmful thoughts about food that are persistent, intrusive, distressing and disruptive.

Understanding food noise

In appetite science, “food noise” encompasses a mix of mechanisms and processes. This includes hunger and satiety, cravings, food reward, emotional eating, control over eating and cue-reactivity (a heightened, automatic reaction to seeing or smelling food).

So, food noise is not one single thing. Two people may both report experiencing “food noise”, but the underlying causes may be different.

For one person, food noise may reflect an internal hunger signal after skipping a meal. For someone else, it might be food cravings triggered by stress or tiredness. And for yet another, it may feel closer to distressing, intrusive thoughts or a fear of losing control over eating.

While it’s common to experience food noise, it becomes concerning if it starts to interfere with daily life. It may make it harder to concentrate, increase anxiety or shame around eating and leave people feeling as if they are constantly battling food thoughts.

Although research on the effects of food noise is limited as the concept is quite new, research on food cravings, cue reactivity and food thought suppression suggests these experiences can make it harder for some people to avoid overeating. In more serious cases, they may be linked with loss of control, binge eating or wider eating-related distress.

Reducing food noise

GLP-1 medications, such as semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro), have become linked with the concept of food noise.

Scientifically, these drugs are shown to reduce hunger, increase fullness, reduce cravings, alter food reward and improve control over eating.

Anecdotally, many people taking these drugs report that they help reduce food noise. Food feels less demanding, less urgent and less mentally intrusive. For those taking these medications, a reduction in food noise may feel like a major improvement in their quality of life.

Food cravings can also intensify when dieting – at least in the short term. Cravings may be especially strong if someone skips meals, eats too little, cuts out favourite foods completely or uses very rigid food rules.

Trying not to think about certain foods can also sometimes make them more mentally prominent. This is one reason very strict diets can make appetite feel harder to manage.

But experiencing hunger or food-related thoughts doesn’t automatically have to be something negative. Hunger is not a defect. It’s one of the body’s normal biological cues, helping us recognise when we need energy.

This is also why the return of some food noise is not necessarily something to fear when GLP-1 medications are reduced or stopped.

The aim then, shouldn’t be to silence appetite or food noise completely. Most people don’t want a life in which they never feel hungry or fully enjoy their food. Eating is part of culture, identity and daily life.

A better goal is for appetite to feel manageable, so food can be enjoyed without taking up too much mental space. So if you’re someone who finds food noise feels too loud, here are some things you can do:

1. Identify the signal before reacting to it. Are you physically hungry, craving something specific or reacting to food cues around you? Hunger usually builds gradually and can be satisfied by a range of foods. A craving is often more sudden, specific and tied to a particular food. Different causes need different responses.

2. Reduce unnecessary food cues. If having snacks in your house makes food thoughts more intrusive, keeping those tempting foods out of sight or planning your meals before shopping may reduce avoidable triggers.

3. Pay attention to your emotions. Food noise can be linked with stress, anxiety, tiredness, loneliness or needing comfort. In such instances, what the body and mind might really need may not be food. Other coping strategies, such as rest or taking a short walk, may be more useful.

4. Physical activity may help reduce craving for unhealthy foods, reduce stress and improve mood. Being active may also make your hunger and fullness signals easier to interpret. This means that exercise can not only help you manage food noise in the short-term, it may also gradually improve your appetite system’s function over time.

5. Seek support if food thoughts become distressing or disruptive. If they’re linked with binge eating, shame, anxiety, loss of control or major disruption to daily life, speaking with a GP, dietitian, psychologist or eating disorder specialist can help you understand your eating patterns and develop safer coping strategies.

Food-related thoughts are part of a healthy, normal appetite system. Learning to detect, interpret and respond in tune with internal appetite signals is key for sustainable weight management.

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Updated: 10:47 BST, 2 July 2026

Pubs across England face losing thousands of pounds as councils refuse to issue ultra-late licences for football fans to watch the World Cup match on Sunday night.

The Three Lions’ last-16 game against Mexico will kick off at 1am Monday UK time, with the potential for a 4am finish if the game goes to extra time and penalties.

Pubs have already seen licensing laws relaxed by the Home Office for England’s knockout games so they can continue serving punters beyond usual hours.

The tweak means they can stay open until 1am for knockout matches with kick-offs between 5pm and 9pm – including last night’s game against the Democratic Republic of Congo, which began at 5pm – and until 2am for kick-offs between 9pm and 10pm.

But no provisions have been made for games starting at 1am – meaning individual pubs must apply to their local council for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) licence.

Officials have the power to block pubs from serving so late and can avert controversy in some areas where locals do not want the noise and hassle of an all-night party.

As the venues face a ‘Mexican standoff’ with councils, employers are bracing for a ‘mass sickie event’ on Monday morning as bleary-eyed workers sleep in.

In the past it has been common for schools and employers to allow England games in the latter stages of major tournaments to be shown when they clash with working hours, but Monday’s kick-off in the small hours poses a unique obstacle.

England fans celebrate a goal against Panama at Ultra Warehouse Derby on Saturday night

And England manager Thomas Tuchel wants families to put football before school, telling parents: ‘Write an excuse for school and let them watch football. Come on. There’s so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years.

‘Let them watch. There will be a big, big match on in four days and we need the support of everyone, and especially of the children.’

England fans wishing to attend the match at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, kicking off at 6pm local time, face a wallet-busting scramble for flights and tickets.

Those who bought early through the official release to the England supporters club paid $235 for a Category 3 seat, $605 for a Category 2 and $770 for a Category 1.

The official Fifa resale platform now has Category 1 tickets for up to $35,648.85, Category 2 for up to $11,845 and Category 3 from $4,082 and $19,453.40.

On the Seatpick resale platform, tickets are selling for between £2,378 and £97,164. 

The cheapest return flight from London Heathrow to Mexico City, leaving on Saturday and returning on Monday, is £3,041 with Aeromexico, according to Skyscanner.

Pub landlords are complaining that councils have refused a licence – including The Wharf Tavern in Solihull, which said other games had resulted in sales quadrupling.

Its operations manager Adam Cook said some other pubs in Solihull also had licences rejected, telling the BBC: ‘We count on these sales to help us for the rest of the year. Pubs are at the heart of the community, football is a community event, it is terrible.

On the Seatpick resale platform, tickets are selling for between £2,378 and £97,164 (above)

The cheapest return flight from Heathrow to Mexico City, from Saturday to Monday, is £3,041

‘We are fighting for every penny, with all the rising costs, we have all seen the headlines, it is hard but we are fighting back as much as we can’. 

But Solihull Council said the pub applied outside the working days condition required and the law left ‘absolutely no wriggle room’, meaning the application was refused.

Applications for TENs must be made to the council at least ten working days before the event, although late TENs are available for between five and nine days.

Jason Cleary, who runs The Hodcarrier in Leamington Spa, also said his application to stay open late was declined because he did not give five working days’ notice.

Mr Cleary told the BBC: ‘If we’re playing until 3 o’clock in the morning they need to allow us to show these games, allow us to have a drink and come together.’

Warwick District Council gave the same explanation as Solihull, saying it could not legally consider a TEN submitted outside the statutory notice period.

Home Office sources indicated to the Daily Mail that that they would be surprised if there was any national shift in the overall licensing hours permitted for the match.

Boxpark venues in Croydon, Wembley, Liverpool, Camden and Shoreditch are among hundreds of venues which have successfully got TENs allowing them to stay open.

England fans celebrate their second goal in the DR Congo game at Atlanta Stadium last night

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England fans sing at a screening of the match against Ghana at Boxpark Wembley on June 23

But some pubs may decide that a 1am kick-off is much less attractive financially if they need to pay staff to stay open all night, unless they expect a full house.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: ‘We remain in close contact with Government about concerns raised by publicans who want to show the match but haven’t got Temporary Event Notices in place.

‘It would be a crying shame for fans and pubs if our locals weren’t able to host such an important match.’

There are no published figures for how many pubs have applied for a Ten, and some venues would have waited for the outcome of the match against DR Congo last night.

But this will be too late for many given the notice period required. Based on previous tournaments, about 3,000 of the UK’s 46,000 pubs are likely to ask to stay open late.

Paul Crossman, chair of the Campaign for Pubs, said: ‘A lot of pubs will be trying to gauge the demand as the tournament progresses, rather than making a blanket commitment in advance.’

England were facing one of their most humiliating World Cup exits having fallen behind in the seventh minute last night to a goal from Brian Cipenga, who plays in Spain’s second division.

But they were saved by a remarkable late double from Kane whose goals resulted in a 2-1 win which sets up a difficult meeting with the co-hosts.

Three men have been arrested over an altercation outside a bar just before a mother-of-one was shot dead.

Shanice Brookes, 30, was fatally shot near the One Four One bar on West Street in Sheffield, in the city centre, shortly before 2.45am on 25 May.

Detectives have said “she was simply an innocent bystander”.

Jemele Rhone, of Outram Road, Sheffield, is due to go on trial next year charged with murdering Ms Brookes.

South Yorkshire Police said on Thursday they had arrested two 21-year-old men and a 31-year-old man, all from Rotherham, on suspicion of affray. They have been bailed pending further inquiries.

The arrests followed an investigation into the events leading up to the fatal shooting, the force said.

Detective Inspector Matt Bolger said: “We are determined to provide answers for Shanice’s family and friends who have had their lives shattered by this heartbreaking and devastating incident.

“Words cannot do justice to describe the unimaginable loss Shanice’s loved ones have experienced and we remain committed to securing justice for them.

“These arrests relate to an altercation that took place shortly before a firearm was discharged and Shanice was sadly fatally shot.

“We continue to explore every line of inquiry and will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get justice for Shanice.

“Since our investigation launched, two people have been charged in connection with the shooting and we are continuing to appeal to anyone that saw what happened and hasn’t come forward already to do so.

“I am also urging anyone with information on the weapon used to kill Shanice to contact us.”

Rhone is charged with murder, possession of a handgun and possession of criminal property, namely £10,000.

His co-accused, Deiryen Dyce, 32, of Ellesmere Road North, Sheffield, is charged with assisting an offender, possession of ammunition, possession of heroin, cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply, and possession of criminal property, namely £2,000.

Officers have released an image of a man they wish to speak to in connection with their investigation

Police are investigating a sexual assault at Carmarthen railway station. British Transport Police have released CCTV images of a man they wish to speak to in connection with their investigation.

They said the incident saw a man approach a woman and make sexualised comments to her before then sexually assaulting her. Always keep on top of the latest Welsh news with our newsletter

A statement from British Transport Police read: “At around 8.30pm on Friday, May 15, a man approached a woman at the station and directed a series of sexualised comments to her.

“He then sexually assaulted her before she left the station.

“Detectives would like to speak to the man pictured, as they believed he may have information that could help their investigation.

“Anyone who recognises him is asked to contact British Transport Police by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 703 of May 15.

“Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

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