diff --git a/lib/constants.dart b/lib/constants.dart
index 150b94c..27dbea1 100644
--- a/lib/constants.dart
+++ b/lib/constants.dart
@@ -8,4 +8,6 @@ class Constants {
   static const String dbCollectionLanguages = 'languages';
   static const String dbCollectionChatRooms = 'chat_rooms';
   static const String dbCollectionMessages = 'messages';
+
+  static const String pathLanguagesJson = 'lib/assets/languages.json';
 }
diff --git a/lib/models/language.dart b/lib/models/language.dart
index f7e63f1..fe872a8 100644
--- a/lib/models/language.dart
+++ b/lib/models/language.dart
@@ -20,4 +20,10 @@ class Language {
       'iconFile': iconFile,
     };
   }
+
+  @override
+  int get hashCode => code.hashCode;
+
+  @override
+  bool operator ==(Object other) => other is Language && code == other.code;
 }
diff --git a/lib/pages/user_data_page.dart b/lib/pages/user_data_page.dart
index bcb28f7..286a40f 100644
--- a/lib/pages/user_data_page.dart
+++ b/lib/pages/user_data_page.dart
@@ -17,10 +17,11 @@ class UserDataPage extends StatefulWidget {
   State<UserDataPage> createState() => _UserDataPageState();
 }
 
+enum Gender { none, male, female, divers }
+
 class _UserDataPageState extends State<UserDataPage> {
   final TextEditingController _locationController = TextEditingController();
   final TextEditingController _birthdayController = TextEditingController();
-  final TextEditingController _genderController = TextEditingController();
 
   List<LanguageSetting> languagesList = [];
   final List<Language> _selectedLanguages = [];
@@ -29,37 +30,141 @@ class _UserDataPageState extends State<UserDataPage> {
   final FirebaseFirestore _firestore = FirebaseFirestore.instance;
   final AuthService _authService = AuthService();
 
+  Gender genderView = Gender.none;
+  int _genderFromDb = 0;
+  List<Language> _languagesFromDb = [];
+
   @override
   void initState() {
     super.initState();
-    // Load data from JSON file when the widget initializes
-    loadLanguagesFromJson();
+
+    // load settings from database
+    _fetchSettings();
+  }
+
+  Future<void> _fetchSettings() async {
+    try {
+      // Fetch user ID
+      String currentUserId = _authService.getCurrentUser()!.uid;
+
+      // Fetch user document fields (email, uid, gender, ...) from database
+      DocumentSnapshot userSnapshot = await _firestore
+          .collection(Constants.dbCollectionUsers)
+          .doc(_authService.getCurrentUser()!.uid)
+          .get();
+
+      // Extract gender
+      setState(() {
+        _genderFromDb = userSnapshot['gender'];
+        genderView = Gender.values[_genderFromDb];
+      });
+
+      // Fetch languages
+      QuerySnapshot languagesSnapshot = await _firestore
+          .collection(Constants.dbCollectionUsers)
+          .doc(currentUserId)
+          .collection(Constants.dbCollectionLanguages)
+          .get();
+
+      List<Language> userLanguages = [];
+      for (var doc in languagesSnapshot.docs) {
+        //languages.add(Language.fromDocument(doc));
+        userLanguages.add(Language(
+          code: doc.id, // aka doc['code'],
+          name: doc['name'],
+          nativeName: doc['nativeName'],
+          iconFile: doc['iconFile'],
+        ));
+      }
+      setState(() {
+        _languagesFromDb = userLanguages;
+      });
+
+      // Load data from JSON file when the widget initializes
+      loadLanguagesFromJson();
+    } catch (error) {
+      print("Error fetching settings: $error");
+    }
+  }
+
+  /// Loads the languages to display
+  Future<void> loadLanguagesFromJson() async {
+    // Load JSON data from assets
+    String jsonData = await rootBundle.loadString(Constants.pathLanguagesJson);
+    // Parse JSON into a list of objects
+    List<dynamic> jsonList = await json.decode(jsonData);
+
+    // Create LanguageSetting objects from JSON data
+    languagesList = jsonList.map((item) {
+      Language language = Language(
+        code: item['code'],
+        name: item['name'],
+        nativeName: item['nativeName'],
+        iconFile: item['iconFile'],
+      );
+      return LanguageSetting(
+        language: language,
+        isSelected: _languagesFromDb.any(
+          (language) => language.code == item['code'],
+        ),
+      );
+    }).toList();
+
+    // Update the UI after loading data
+    setState(() {
+      if (_selectedLanguages.isEmpty) {
+        _selectedLanguages.addAll(_languagesFromDb);
+      }
+    });
   }
 
   void saveUserData(BuildContext context) async {
-    // get userID from auth service
+    // Get userID from auth service
     String currentUserID = _authService.getCurrentUser()!.uid;
 
-    // Get reference to the Firebase collection
-    CollectionReference languagesRef = _firestore
-        .collection(Constants.dbCollectionUsers)
-        .doc(currentUserID)
-        .collection(Constants.dbCollectionLanguages);
+    // Get references to the current users Firebase collections
+    DocumentReference userRef =
+        _firestore.collection(Constants.dbCollectionUsers).doc(currentUserID);
+    CollectionReference languagesRef =
+        userRef.collection(Constants.dbCollectionLanguages);
 
-    // Loop through each Language object and save it to the collection
-    for (int i = 0; i < _selectedLanguages.length; i++) {
-      // Convert Language object to a map and add the map to the collection,
-      // using .doc(myID).set() instead of .add() to avoid duplicates.
-      await languagesRef
-          .doc(_selectedLanguages[i].code)
-          .set(_selectedLanguages[i].toMap());
+    // Update Gender in database - only if value has changed
+    if (_genderFromDb != genderView.index) {
+      await userRef.update(
+        {'gender': genderView.index},
+      );
+      // update local value
+      _genderFromDb = genderView.index;
+    } else {
+      print("gender did NOT change");
     }
 
-    // List to store language codes from the provided list
-    List<String> languageCodes =
-        _selectedLanguages.map((language) => language.code).toList();
-    // Clean up languages that were not part of the provided list
-    await deleteUnusedDocuments(languagesRef, languageCodes);
+    // Save Languages - only if selected values changed
+    if (_selectedLanguages.isEmpty) {
+      print("no language selected");
+    } else if (_languagesFromDb.length != _selectedLanguages.length ||
+        _selectedLanguages
+            .any((element) => !_languagesFromDb.contains(element))) {
+      // Loop through each Language object and save it to the collection
+      for (int i = 0; i < _selectedLanguages.length; i++) {
+        // Convert Language object to a map and add the map to the collection,
+        // using .doc(myID).set() instead of .add() to avoid duplicates.
+        await languagesRef
+            .doc(_selectedLanguages[i].code)
+            .set(_selectedLanguages[i].toMap());
+      }
+      // update local variable (only if selection is not empty)
+      _languagesFromDb.clear();
+      _languagesFromDb.addAll(_selectedLanguages);
+
+      // List to store language codes from the provided list
+      List<String> languageCodes =
+          _selectedLanguages.map((language) => language.code).toList();
+      // Clean up languages that were not part of the provided list
+      await deleteUnusedDocuments(languagesRef, languageCodes);
+    } else {
+      print("languages did NOT change");
+    }
   }
 
   /// Deletes documents from collection that are not part of the provided list
@@ -78,27 +183,12 @@ class _UserDataPageState extends State<UserDataPage> {
     }
   }
 
-  Future<void> loadLanguagesFromJson() async {
-    // Load JSON data from assets
-    String jsonData = await rootBundle.loadString('lib/assets/languages.json');
-    // Parse JSON into a list of objects
-    List<dynamic> jsonList = await json.decode(jsonData);
-
-    // Create LanguageSetting objects from JSON data
-    languagesList = jsonList.map((item) {
-      Language language = Language(
-        code: item['code'],
-        name: item['name'],
-        nativeName: item['nativeName'],
-        iconFile: item['iconFile'],
-      );
-      // TODO Werte aus DB laden
-      return LanguageSetting(language: language);
-    }).toList();
-
-    // Update the UI after loading data
+  void updateSelectedGender(Set<Gender> newSelection) {
     setState(() {
-      // TODO ?
+      // By default there is only a single segment that can be
+      // selected at one time, so its value is always the first
+      // item in the selected set.
+      genderView = newSelection.first;
     });
   }
 
@@ -132,14 +222,37 @@ class _UserDataPageState extends State<UserDataPage> {
               obscureText: false,
               controller: _birthdayController,
             ),
-            const Text(
-              'Gender',
-              style: TextStyle(fontSize: 18, fontWeight: FontWeight.bold),
+            Text(
+              'Gender (${genderView.name} selected)',
+              style: const TextStyle(fontSize: 18, fontWeight: FontWeight.bold),
             ),
-            MyTextField(
-              hintText: "Gender",
-              obscureText: false,
-              controller: _genderController,
+            SegmentedButton<Gender>(
+              style: SegmentedButton.styleFrom(
+                selectedBackgroundColor: Colors.blue,
+              ),
+              segments: const <ButtonSegment<Gender>>[
+                ButtonSegment<Gender>(
+                  value: Gender.none,
+                  label: Text('none'),
+                ),
+                ButtonSegment<Gender>(
+                  value: Gender.male,
+                  label: Text('male'),
+                  //icon: Icon(Icons.male_sharp),
+                ),
+                ButtonSegment<Gender>(
+                  value: Gender.female,
+                  label: Text('female'),
+                  //icon: Icon(Icons.female_sharp),
+                ),
+                ButtonSegment<Gender>(
+                  value: Gender.divers,
+                  label: Text('divers'),
+                ),
+              ],
+              selected: <Gender>{genderView},
+              showSelectedIcon: false,
+              onSelectionChanged: updateSelectedGender,
             ),
             const Divider(),
             Text(
@@ -181,7 +294,7 @@ class _UserDataPageState extends State<UserDataPage> {
     required VoidCallback onClicked,
   }) =>
       ListTile(
-        tileColor: Colors.greenAccent,
+        tileColor: Theme.of(context).colorScheme.secondary,
         onTap: onClicked,
         leading: SizedBox(
           width: 48,