WW Inc.

WW International, Inc.
Formerly
 Weight Watchers (1963–2018)
Public
Traded as
Founded May 15, 1963 (1963-05-15)
Queens, New York, U.S.
Headquarters 675 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor New York, NY 10010
Key people
 Mindy Grossman, President & CEO
Products Weight loss, Packaged foods, Exercise products
Revenue Decrease $1.724 billion (2013)[1]
Decrease $460.757 million (2013)[1]
Decrease $204.725 million (2013)[1]
Total assets Increase $1.408 billion (2013)[1]
Total equity Increase -$1.474 billion (2013)[1]
Owner Oprah Winfrey (10%)
Number of employees
 25,000 (as of 2013)[1]
Parent Heinz (1978–1999)
Website weightwatchers.com
weightwatchers.co.uk
weightwatchers.ca
fr.weightwatchers.ca

WW International, Inc., formerly Weight Watchers, is an American company that offers various products and services to assist weight loss and maintenance. Founded in 1963 by Queens, New York, homemaker Jean Nidetch, it now operates in about 30 countries around the world, generally under names that are local translations of "Weight Watchers". The core philosophy behind the company's programs is to use a science-driven approach to help participants lose weight by forming helpful habits, eating smarter, getting more exercise, and providing support.[2][3]

At 12 months, WW is associated with 2.6% more weight loss than those who were in a control group.[4]

The term weight-watcher, in the same sense, had circulated publicly for several years before the company was formed.[5]

On September 24, 2018, the company announced a rebrand to "WW" taking effect immediately, representing its "heritage and history and [...] going forward".[6][7]

Effectiveness

A former Weight Watchers location
in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts
Logo used to 2018

A 2015 systematic review found that at 12 months Weight Watchers was associated with 2.6% more weight loss than those who were in a control group.[4] There is a lack of evidence beyond this period of time.[4]

Weight Watchers claims that members who both use Weight Watchers' Web-based eTools and attend meetings lose half again as much weight as those who only attend meetings, citing an unspecified "12 week study comparing people who were instructed to attend Weight Watchers meetings and use eTools to people who were instructed to attend Weight Watchers meetings alone".[8]

Approach

Weight Watchers' core approach is to assist members in losing weight through eating more healthily and getting more exercise.[2] Weight Watchers' primary diet plan has no directly comparable requirements and no food is off limits. Participants lose weight by creating a calorie deficit.[3] Weight Watchers is generally compatible with other diet approaches and/or food intake restrictions, provided participants use the Weight Watchers framework to measure and limit the quantity of food consumed while using the other diet plan to dictate the range of acceptable food choices.

There are two primary ways individuals can work with Weight Watchers: via in-person meetings and an online-only program.[2] Both programs use the same basic materials and computations.[3] For in-person meetings, Weight Watchers encourages members to select a goal weight that results in a body mass index generally accepted as healthy (18 to 24.9), although a member may also establish a goal weight outside of that range after providing a doctor's note to that effect. In order to join Weight Watchers in the United States, one must weigh at least 5 pounds (2.3 kg) more than the minimum weight considered healthy by the company for their height.[9]

Once a member reaches their goal weight, they start a maintenance period. For the following six weeks, the member gradually adjusts their food intake until the member no longer loses or gains weight. If at the end of six weigh-ins during the maintenance period, the member weighs in within 2 pounds (0.91 kg) of their goal weight, they become a "Lifetime" member.

Weight Watchers' eTools is a Web-based service for members that includes access to support materials and tracking tools. In some areas Weight Watchers meetings are operated by a locally franchised organization rather than by Weight Watchers International.[10]

In most locations, Weight Watchers holds meetings for members which in some cases may cause positive reinforcement for participants.[11]

Weight loss plans

United States

Weight Watcher Slide Ruler

Weight Watchers introduced a new plan in December 2015 called SmartPoints – Beyond the Scale. It tries to help people make smarter food choices and build a better relationship with food. Similar to their other points-based plans, every food and drink is assigned  a points value. SmartPoints is calculated using calories, saturated fat, sugar, and protein. No food is off-limits, but the plan assigns higher points values to foods higher in sugar or saturated fat, and lower points values to lean proteins. Most fruits and vegetables are zero points, similar to the old PointsPlus plan. Some condiments are no longer free, such as ketchup, due to the sugar content.[12]

Prior to the SmartPoints plan, Weight Watchers used PointsPlus, introduced in November 2010. Touted by Weight Watchers as incorporating a decade of science compared to the prior Points-based plans, the focus was on assisting members in creating a calorie deficit to lose weight using a reformulated calculation approach using total fat, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, and protein.[13] A change from the old points system was the identification of Power Foods, and assigning fruits and most vegetables a points value of 0. PointsPlus was calculated using total fat, carbohydrate, dietary fiber and protein. As an alternative to the PointsPlus plan, participants could use the Simply Filling Technique.[14] On the Simply Filling Technique, participants ate from a designated list of foods without the requirement to track.[14] Categories of foods on the list included: most fruits and vegetables, whole grains, non-fat dairy and dairy substitutes, lean proteins, and a handful of other items.[14] Because the plan did not require tracking, participants needed to be mindful to "eat portions that feel right for them. Not so much that they feel too full, and not too little that they still feel hungry."[14]

On December 3, 2012, Weight Watchers introduced additional aspects to the program. This was dubbed "Weight Watchers 360". Additions included introducing more interactivity to meetings, more focus on building healthful habits, and fighting hedonic hunger: "the desire to seek out high-sugar, high-fat foods that bring pleasure." The 360 plan also introduced the ActiveLink physical activity monitor as an optional purchase item.[15]

Old plans

Jean Nidetch, the founder of Weight Watchers, wrote a book in the early 1970s called The Memoir of a Successful Loser The Story of Weight Watchers which documented the original Weight Watchers plan.

That original plan was supplanted shortly after the book with materials bearing a 1972-73 copyright: "Weight Watchers(R) Program Handbook for Ladies".[16] This plan was similar to the original plan.

By 1989, the plan had switched to an exchange-based diet.[17] The document's subtitle and copyright dates make determining the exact date difficult, "The Quick Success(R) Program" with the subtitle "New for 1989" has a copyright date of 1987, 1988.[17]

By 1997, the first Points-based program was introduced.

On April 15, 2005, a sputtering low-carbohydrate fad and the end of a licensing deal with Weight Watchers International Inc. had carved a big chunk out of CoolBrands International Inc.'s bottom line.[18] On December 20, 2005, CoolBrands International Inc. said it intended to wield the power of three big-name licensed brands to help it recover from the loss of Weight Watchers from its product lineup.[19]

In 2015, Weight Watchers create a rebranding campaign with the help of ad agency DiMassimo Goldstein that featured Weight Watchers' members and deemphasized counting calories in favor of Weight Watchers newly introduced "Freestyle" program, which identifies the overall healthfulness of foods through a "SmartPoints" program.

United Kingdom

The original Points Plan was developed in the UK by the Weight Watchers program development team headed by Sarah Watson and Marian Way who took out the first patent for a calculator to embody the algorithm (based on the summation of calories/70 and saturated fat/4 with the sum rounded to the nearest half) the patent was filed on 1 November 1995.[20] In the UK during November 2010 the Points plan had been replaced with ProPoints. This is similar to the Points plan only the calculation now takes protein, carbohydrates, all fat and fiber into consideration. The following main changes were made from the Points to ProPoints plan:

  • Change the formula, so the majority of foods now cost more ProPoints than Points
  • Daily ProPoint allowances were increased however you are no longer allowed to carry your daily ProPoints over to the next day
  • Most fruit and vegetables are now zero ProPoints
  • All participants also have a weekly ProPoints allowance of 49 ProPoints which they can choose to use as they see fit throughout the week.

In December 2015 a new scheme was introduced using SmartPoints.[21]

Ireland and Australia

In Ireland, there has recently been a new plan launched called ProPoints Plan. Traditional weight loss plans are based on the calories on a food label. But the new ProPoints system incorporates the latest science that shows there is a more accurate way to assess the impact a food has on weight loss. ProPoints values are calculated using 4 macronutrients: fat, fiber, protein and carbohydrate. There is also a new weekly ProPoints allowance and zero ProPoints values fruit and veg.[22][23] In Australia, Weight Watchers also offers free trials for ProPoints online program to attract customers.[24]

The Netherlands

In December 2017, the new program Weight Watchers Flex was introduced in The Netherlands.[25] The program is based on the SmartPoints system.

Products

In addition to Weight Watchers membership plans, other products (such as packaged foods, exercise equipment and DVDs, food preparation and storage tools, cookbooks, etc.) are available for purchase. In 2012, the company partnered with Philips to create the ActiveLink activity tracker.[26][27]

Spokespersons

The current spokesperson for Weight Watchers is Oprah Winfrey, an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. During her time as a Weight Watchers spokesperson, Oprah Winfrey has revealed that she is an adamant lover of various breads.[28] Prior spokespersons associated with the product were actresses Lynn Redgrave and Jenny McCarthy, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson,[29] singer/actress Jessica Simpson, and Grammy/Academy-Award winner singer/actress Jennifer Hudson.[30][31]

Corporate information

History

From 1978 until 1999, Weight Watchers was owned by the H. J. Heinz Company, which continues to produce packaged foods bearing the Weight Watchers brand. In October 2015 Oprah Winfrey purchased a 10% stake in Weight Watchers for an estimated $43 million. On September 12, 2016, Weight Watchers announced that its chief executive, James Chambers, would resign at the end of September after three years on the job.[32]

Governance

The current members of the board of directors of Weight Watchers are Derek Williams, John Bard, Raymond Debbane, Marsha Evans, Jonas Fajgenbaum, Linda Huett, Sacha Lainovic, Steven M. Altschuler and Christopher Sobecki. On October 19, 2015, Oprah Winfrey announced her place on the board of Weight Watchers International.[33]

Formulas for calculating nutrition points

Weight Watchers has not provided official confirmation of the formulas for calculating nutrition points, and has aggressively sent cease and desist letters to websites and a number of third-party tools that claimed to provide Points, or PointsPlus, calculations.[34]

However, several web sites publish a SmartPoints formula, which they derived from published SmartPoints values and the online calculator provided by WeightWatchers to its customers [35] .[36] Their published formulas are based on the food energy content of the food, adding a penalty for sugar and saturated fat content and a bonus for protein content.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 WEIGHT WATCHERS INTERNATIONAL, INC. Form 10-K, Securities and Exchange Commission, February 26, 2014
  2. 1 2 3 "Helping People Lose Weight for 45 Years". Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  3. 1 2 3 David Kirchhoff, Our New Program the Next Level, archived from the original on December 2, 2010, retrieved 2010-12-29
  4. 1 2 3 Gudzune, KA; Doshi, RS; Mehta, AK; Chaudhry, ZW; Jacobs, DK; Vakil, RM; Lee, CJ; Bleich, SN; Clark, JM (7 April 2015). "Efficacy of commercial weight-loss programs: an updated systematic review". Annals of Internal Medicine. 162 (7): 501–12. doi:10.7326/M14-2238. PMC 4446719. PMID 25844997.
  5. ↑ "Menu from Stouffer's restaurant, probably Chicago, dated November 7, 1959: 'Weight-Watcher's Luncheon ... $1.20.'". Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  6. ↑ "Weight Watchers is now WW". Twitter. September 24, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  7. ↑ Hope, Katie (September 24, 2018). "Weight Watchers drops 'weight' from name". BBC News. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  8. ↑ "eTools, the Internet companion". Weight Watchers International. 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-07. People who both attend Weight Watchers meetings and use eTools lose over 50% more weight on average than those who attend weekly meetings alone. ...Weight loss data based on 12 week study comparing people who were instructed to attend Weight Watchers meetings and use eTools to people who were instructed to attend Weight Watchers meetings alone.
  9. ↑ https://welcome.weightwatchers.com/faq/#/
  10. ↑ "Home Page". Weight Watchers of Philadelphia. Retrieved 2008-06-07. This website is operated by Weight Watchers of Philadelphia, Inc. [punctuation sic] a franchise of Weight Watchers International, Inc.
  11. ↑ Moisio, R.; Beruchashvili, M. (2010). "Questing for Well-Being at Weight Watchers: The Role of the Spiritual-Therapeutic Model in a Support Group". Journal of Consumer Research. 36 (5): 857–875. doi:10.1086/605590.
  12. ↑ "The SmartPoints® Plan | Weight Watchers". www.weightwatchers.com. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  13. ↑ "Weight Watchers Points Plus: Diet Review By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD WebMD Expert Review". Webmd.com. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "What's included in the Simply Filling Technique". Retrieved 2011-01-03.
  15. ↑ Hellmich, Nancy (December 2, 2012). "New Weight Watchers 360 plan unveiled". USA Today. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  16. ↑ "WW 1972 Plan". B.feli.me. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  17. 1 2 "WW 1989 Plan". B.feli.me. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  18. ↑ "Low-carb, low-fat crazes hit CoolBrands; Shares drop on second-quarter loss".
  19. ↑ "CoolBrands plays down its loss of Weight Watchers".
  20. ↑ "UK Patent Application 2 302 605 A".
  21. ↑ "Hello SmartPoints". Weightwatchers. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  22. ↑ "Weight Watchers Ireland - Start losing weight today". Weight Watchers Ireland.
  23. ↑ "Weight Watchers is Australia's #1 Weight Loss & Healthy Lifestyle Program! - Weight Watchers AU". www.weightwatchers.com.au.
  24. ↑ "Weight Watchers Promo Code (14 Days Free Trial) - November, 2017". www.topbargains.com.au.
  25. ↑ "Succesvol Afvallen met WW Flex | Weight Watchers NL". www.weightwatchers.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  26. ↑ Dolan, Brian (October 11, 2012). "Weight Watchers taps Philips for activity tracking". mobihealthnews. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  27. ↑ Macatee, Rebecca (30 August 2016). "Oprah Reveals Favorite Cheat Food, Has Requirements for Her Bread#website= E! Online. E! News". Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  28. ↑ Hendley, Joyce (2003). "Weight Watchers at Forty: A Celebration". Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture. 3 (1): 16–21. doi:10.1525/gfc.2003.3.1.16. JSTOR 10.1525/gfc.2003.3.1.16.
  29. ↑ Jennifer's Weight Watchers Story Retrieved 2010-04-01.
  30. ↑ "Jennifer Hudson is New Weight Watchers Spokeswoman - ABC News" Retrieved 2010-04-01.
  31. ↑ "Oprah to help Weight Watchers find new leader after CEO resigns". Reuters. 13 September 2016 – via Reuters.
  32. ↑ Isidore, Chris (2015-10-19). "Weight Watchers stock: Oprah takes 10 stake and join its board".
  33. ↑ "Chilling Effects Notice". Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  34. ↑ "Weight Watchers SmartPoints Formula in Detail: A Step-by-Step How-To". 2015-10-08. Without further delay, here's CalorieLab's conjectured SmartPoints formula: SP=(Calories+(1×4×Sugar)+(1×9×SatFat)-(0.8×4×Protein))/33 . The result, SP, is rounded up or down. The values Calories, Sugar grams, SatFat (saturated fat) grams, and Protein grams are taken off the U.S. or Canadian Nutrition Facts labels of packaged food, or for generic foods, from CalorieLab's nutrition database or other source.
  35. ↑ "A comparison of Weight Watcher's Points Plus Values and SmartPoints". 2015-12-10.
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