UNDA — Claims Register
Status: Draft. Every public performance/health claim in the app, marketing, and docs must appear here (§19). Bold red-flag claims that were rejected are kept in the register so we don't accidentally reintroduce them.
Evidence-strength scale:
- High — multiple peer-reviewed studies or systematic reviews support the claim as stated.
- Medium — some evidence, with individual variance or method caveats; claim is hedged in copy.
- Low — anecdotal or single-study; claim not appropriate for public surfaces without hedging.
- Insufficient — no adequate evidence; do not publish.
Product claims currently in the app
| Claim | Where | Evidence | Strength | Owner | Approved | Notes / hedges required |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Training that follows the rhythm of your cycle, not against it." | Onboarding welcome copy | Product positioning — fitness/personalisation frame per §1.1 | High (as positioning, not clinical claim) | Product | Yes | OK — descriptive, not medical. |
| "Move with change." | Onboarding tagline | Marketing positioning | High | Product | Yes | OK. |
| "Estrogen and progesterone at their lowest" (menstrual phase) | Today hormones line + Plan spec table | Textbook physiology (Speroff & Fritz, Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, general endocrinology curricula) | High (general population statement) | Product | Yes, with hedge | Prefix with "Typically" — the app is not measuring the user's hormones. Copy fix pending. |
| "Rising estrogen, low progesterone" (follicular) | Same | Same textbook basis | High | Product | Yes, with hedge | Same "Typically" prefix. |
| "Estrogen peak, LH surge, small testosterone bump" (ovulatory) | Same | Same | High | Product | Yes, with hedge | Same. |
| "Rising progesterone" (early luteal) | Same | Same | High | Product | Yes, with hedge | Same. |
| "Progesterone falling, estrogen also falling" (late luteal) | Same | Same | High | Product | Yes, with hedge | Same. |
| "Best window for strength gains, HIIT, plyometrics, PRs. Body tolerates volume and recovers well." (follicular) | Today + Plan + WORKOUT_LIBRARY.md | Kissow et al. 2022 (limited but suggestive); high inter-individual variance per McNulty 2020 | Medium | Product | Yes, with softening | Reword to: "Many athletes report their strongest sessions in this window; individual response varies." |
| "Peak strength, but ligament laxity is highest — warm up thoroughly." (ovulatory) | Same | Ligament laxity: e.g. Shultz et al., knee laxity studies. Peak strength: mixed, McNulty 2020 says trivial-to-small on average. | Low for "peak strength"; Medium for "warm up thoroughly" | Product | Yes, with softening | Reword: "Some athletes report their top-end efforts here. Ligament laxity peaks around ovulation, so extend your warm-up." |
| "Endurance base work, moderate strength. Core temp runs slightly higher — hydrate more, favor cooler workouts." (early luteal) | Same | Basal body temp rise post-ovulation is well-established (Barron & Fehring, 2005) | Medium-to-High | Product | Yes | OK. |
| "Aerobic base (Zone 2), mobility, yoga, technique work. Injury risk rises with fatigue — reduce intensity." (late luteal) | Same | RPE increase in luteal phase: Janse de Jonge 2003 review; injury-with-fatigue: general sports-med literature | Medium | Product | Yes, with softening | Reword injury line: "If perceived exertion feels higher, reduce intensity." — the app doesn't measure your injury risk. |
| Phase-based workout selection ("this session is right for today's phase") | Today card, Plan tab | Cycle-phase training literature is emerging; McNulty 2020 meta-analysis: trivial-to-small mean effect, high inter-individual variance | Medium | Product | Yes, with framing | Framing: recommendations are defaults, users can override. Must not read as prescriptive. Reinforced by recommender v0.2.0 (2026-08-08) — phase is a weight, not a filter, so workouts from other phases can surface. |
| Ovulation shown as a specific day (ring in calendar) | Ovulation prediction from period date alone is a rough estimate (±3–5 days) | N/A — retired | Product | Retired | Retired 2026-08-08 — Calendar now renders the ring across the estimated window (radius 1/2/3 days by confidence). Legend copy: "Estimated ovulation". | |
| "Estimated ovulation window" (ring across N days on the Calendar) | Calendar tab | Textbook mid-cycle ± window widened by confidence; general endocrinology literature | Medium | Product | Yes | Window widens when confidence is low so precision is not implied. |
| "≈ N days until next period (± M)" | Today card | Prediction from average cycle length; M widens with low confidence | Medium | Product | Yes | Copy landed 2026-08-08. Includes a Confidence: {level} chip with an explainer sheet. |
| Phase name accompanied by an ESTIMATED pill on the Today card | Today card | Phase is model-derived, not measured (§9.4 / RULE 5) | High | Product | Yes | Landed 2026-08-08. |
| "Typically: {hormone profile}" on the Today card | Today card | Phase-specific hormone profile from general endocrinology literature | High (as a typical population statement) | Product | Yes | "Typically" prefix landed 2026-08-08 so the copy cannot read as a measurement of the user. |
| "What influenced today's recommendation? {factor list}" | Today card | Explainability requirement §9.5. Factors are the actual recommender inputs (phase, sports, goals, equipment, recency, confidence). | High | Product | Yes | Landed with recommender v0.1.0. |
Explicitly rejected claims (do not reintroduce)
| Rejected claim | Reason | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| "Proven to optimise hormones" | No product can prove this; not a fitness claim. | §19, §1.2 |
| "Prevents injury" | Overreach; safety claim requires medical-device review. | §1.2 |
| "Detects hormonal problems" / "Detects PCOS" | Diagnostic claim — regulated as a medical device. | §1.2, §23 RULE 6 |
| "Prevents RED-S" | Prevention claim — medical device territory. | §1.2 |
| "Guarantees better performance" | No such guarantee is scientifically defensible. | §19 |
| "Replaces your coach / doctor / physio" | Explicit prohibition in §1.2. | §1.2 |
| "Determines it is safe to exercise today" | Medical safety determination — prohibited. | §1.2 |
Source references (for the claims that live in the app)
- McNulty, K. et al. (2020). The Effects of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Exercise Performance in Eumenorrheic Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 50(10), 1813–1827.
- Kissow, J. et al. (2022). Effect of follicular vs. luteal phase resistance training adaptations.
- Janse de Jonge, X. A. K. (2003). Effects of the Menstrual Cycle on Exercise Performance. Sports Medicine, 33(11), 833–851.
- Bruinvels, G. et al. (2021). Menstrual cycle symptom prevalence in female athletes.
- Barron, M. L., & Fehring, R. J. (2005). Basal Body Temperature Assessment. Biological Research for Nursing.
- Shultz, S. J. et al. — knee laxity across the menstrual cycle (representative body of work).
- Sims, S. (2016). ROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology. (Framework citation; specific claims from this book must map to primary sources before publication.)
Change control
- New claim = new row in the same PR that adds it (§22 PR checklist).
- Softening a claim: update the row and edit the affected copy in the same PR.
- RULE 6 test: for every new claim, ask "does this read as fitness guidance or medical determination?" If the latter, remove or escalate per §26.