There are many popular weight loss diets in today’s society and one of the many is the Weight Watchers diet. The Weight Watchers diet is a program where people can go to participate in weekly support meeting with others who are also trying to lose weight, as a way of creating accountability partners to help motivate them and keep them on track with their weight loss. This diet was first started by a woman named Jean Nidetch in 1963. Nidetch weighed 214 pounds and was a dress size 44 when she first decided to take control of her weight. She went to a free diet clinic near where she lived in New York and stuck strictly to the diet she was given. After losing 20 pounds, Nidetch realized that she was losing encouragement. Because of this, she decided to call some of her friends who were also overweight and confessed to them that she had a cookie obsession. After making this confession, her friends too shared what they struggled with. They decided to call these things their “Frankensteins”, in other words, their food obsessions. Because of this they started to meet weekly to help support one another, and in turn they all lost weight. People started to find out about this group of ladies’ success and naturally wanted to become a part of it. As it started to grow, Nidetch decided that she should set up weekly classes as a business location. The first public meeting was held in May of 1963 in a loft, and it was completely unadvertised. When she arrived with 50 rented chairs, she realized there were 400 people were waiting outside, so they did meetings in groups of 50. They came up with a Food Plan that continues to evolve today, and added an Exercise Plan in 1978. Later on that year the company was sold to the H.J. Heinz Company which now...
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...a support system is very necessary and can help reach the desired results, but why not find one for free? But again, one will only get out of it as much as they put into it, no matter where they go, what program they join, or what diet they decide to try next.
Works Cited
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"The History of Weight Watchers." The History of Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers
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Hellmich, Nanci. "Weight Watchers Founder Jean Nidetch Shares Her Start –
USATODAY.com." Weight Watchers Founder Jean Nidetch Shares Her Start - USATODAY.com. USA Today, 22 Mar. 2010. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
"Advertising." WeightWatchers.com: Proven Plan & Online Tools. Weight Watchers
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Mary Ray Worley does an excellent job of using her personal experiences as “proof” of the points she makes. When she attacks the idea of dieting she states, “Many fat people have made numerous efforts and spent thousands of dollars throughout their lives to lose weight and each time regained the lost pounds plus a few more” (Worley 165). She makes this point and backs it up in paragraph 11 with her personal experience with dieting and how she gave up on it. She states, “After years and years of dieting it slowly dawned on me that my body rebelled when I tried to restrict my food intake. All those years I figured that it was me who was failing, and then I began to realize that it was the method that was failing” (Worley 165). To certain audiences this article is effective due to this kind of approach. It is especially effective to people who can relate to Worley. Those who can relate to her personal life are more likely to believe what they
As for David Zinczenko, he grew up on the infamous fast food diet that once saved his life when hunger struck due to the affordable prices restaurants had to offer. “Lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut” (Zinczenko 462). These unhealthy habits eventually caught up to him and resulted in an unflattering weight gain. Fortunately, he went to college, connected with the Navy Reserves and also became associated with a health magazine in which he learned how to manage his diet. He didn’t stop there; in fact, he is president of Galvanized Brands, a global health and wellness media company and he is also the author of multiple books: Eat This, Not That and the Abs Diet series. The most remarkable part, he was able to recover and become healthy again unlike many others who have gone too far to make a comeback, therefore, becoming obese. In “Don’t Blame the Eater”, Zinczenko talks to those who are consuming the
As obesity and medical problems due to diet become a larger issue within society, it is imperative to educate humans on the importance of maintaining a healthy diet. This is exactly what Hungry for Change does. One of the key points made in the documentary is that humans no longer eat a natural diet like their ancestors did; when humans first began to inhabit the Earth they lived off a diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats. During these periods famine and disease was rampant, so humans adapted to store nutrition more productively. Now that humans live in a more developed society, they have a (practically) unlimited supply of food. However, much of this food is processed and manipulated to have a better flavour and a longer shelf life, and though this sounds like a positive situation, it has become a huge problem. According to best-selling women’s health author Dr. Christine Northrup, “We’ve lived on Earth for a millennium where there was a food shortage. You’re programmed to put on fat whenever there is food available. Now there’s a lot of food available, but it’s the wrong kind.” (Northrup, as cited in Colquhoun et al., 2012). This is a logical and widely accepted theory as to why humans continue to overindulge on foods despi...
The Weight Watcher’s program was founded in 1961 by Jean Nidetch, who had struggled with her weight throughout childhood and all of her adult life. She decided one day to try yet another diet ran by the New York City Board of Health in Manhattan close to where she lived. After two months she had lost 20 pounds, but she realized a very important component of the diet was missing, a support group of others to share their daily battles with their weight issues. She began writing down all the things she had learned from her meetings in Manhattan and started inviting friends over who were fighting their own battles with their weight. Soon this diet that starting out with a few lady’s in the middle of one lady’s living room would later become a world icon. In late 1961 the Weight Watcher’s Program began. By 1963, just two years Weight Watcher’s was incorporated and by 1967 Weight Watcher’s went global and became Weight Watcher’s International, Inc. including Canada, Puerto Rico, Great Brittain and Israel. Today Weight Watcher’s is one of the leading diet programs in America and operates in over 30 different countries. (Weight Watchers founder Jean Nidetch shares her start, 2010).
In the article “Don’t Blame the Eater” author David Zinczenko discusses on the conflict of how we can’t blame the youth for being overweight, but the parents or guardian on taking personal responsibility for what their children are eating. Luckily, Zinczenko was able to turn his life around by the Navy Reserves recruiting him and being involved for some time the men’s health magazines. Now, he is currently the president of Galvanized Brands, a global health, and wellness media company.Growing up, Zinczenko’s parents were divorced and he was living with his single mother that worked long hours to make enough money to just keep a roof over their heads. According to Zinczenko, he learned the hard way of struggling within managing his diet. Zinczenko’s
North America is seeing a rise in death due to obesity in recent years. In America alone, 300 000 individuals die of obesity per year and is the second leading cause of preventable death. A large number of health issues arise from being overweight and obese such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Health risks are not the only reason for people to strive to lose weight, the idea of having a lean, muscular, and fit body considered attractive by the media have also driven fat people to take active steps towards weight loss. When people see advertisements like "lose 10 pounds in 10 days" or "25 pounds in only two weeks" makes their hearts skip a beat at the possibility of dropping pounds without any pain or bother. These advertisements target
When it comes to the topic of eating healthy, most of us will readily agree that we all need to. Where this argument usually ends, however, is on the question of how and why. Whereas some are convinced that we don’t need to all be eating healthy foods that are over priced to stay healthy, and others maintain that there is no other way. Bill Gifford talks about a proper diet throughout the book, but one chapter in particular really stands out when it comes to how diet affects our bodies and ultimately our heath. In the chapter Phil Vs. Fat, Gifford tells a story about a man who beats all odds when it comes to changing his life. Our new friend Phil was morbidly obese and had become highly diabetic. Through exercise and eating a more refined diet, he was able to completely reverse his body and his health. Gifford continues to emphasis on Phil’s great feat when he writes, “The doctor was astonished: Bruno’s insulin resistance was gone, his blood values
Do you struggle with health problems or anxiety? If so, do not worry, because you are not alone. Today, America is in the middle of a serious crisis. Many people are suffering from diseases that are directly related to the American Diet. An estimated sixty-one percent of Americans are deemed overweight, and about one-third of these are currently obese (cdc.gov). Throughout the country, the obesity epidemic has struck every population demographic. According to the Center of Disease Control, an estimated 248,000 Americans die prematurely every year owing to obesity. The Center also asserts that many more people die prematurely today owing to illnesses related to obesity, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers. An even more ominous statistic is that the percentage of children and adolescents who are obese has doubled in the last twenty years (cdc.gov). In order to understand why obesity is on the sky rise in America, the average diet of Americans must be taken into consideration. In comparison to other countries, the American Diet is one of, if not the worst in terms of nutrition (Young 93). The unhealthy American Diet is a dietary habit that is highly associated with fast food, processed foods, soft drinks , and large portions, which explains why it has to change in order to save our country.
Problem: Weight Watchers is struggling with customer retention and people hold misperceptions about the company’s offerings compared to that of other major competitors. Weight Watchers is directed toward women, however they offer products and services to fit the needs of men. Also, it is challenging for the company to create a forward-focused diet plan for mainstream users, trying not to steer away from the initial mission, which is fostering success through group support. External Environment: Weight Watchers market segmentation strategy primarily targets women who are in the 25-55 age range. North America and other developed countries are facing staggering amounts of obesity, which makes weight management an attractive industry for Weight Watchers.
This paper will look at two areas, which are physical and mental problems. Fad diets are becoming more popular because the consumers spend a huge amount of their money to follow specific type of diets to lose weight hastily as industry contributes to the dissemination of more books and magazines that deceive people and take their money. The FTC deceives consumers by using advertisement weight-loss and as a result it has collected almost $107 million since 2010 (Giorgianni, 2014). In addition, people need to increase their awareness of fad diets by knowing the negative impacts of it.
Marya Hornbacher was born on April 4th, 1974, her parents were well-known actors and directors in Walnut Creek, California. She led a chaotic childhood, consisting of a major move to Minnesota, an anxiety disorder, and most of all, perfectionism everywhere she turned, “I always felt there was an expectation that I would do one of two things: be great at something, or go crazy and become a total failure. There is no middle ground where I come from,” (Hornbacher, 281). Marya developed bulimia when she was nine years old, and when she moved away to attending boarding school at fifteen, she became anorexic. Her parents saw it as a phase and Marya did not go into treatment for another seven years, since then, she has had several relapses. Marya wrote her ...
Ever since the turn of the twenty first century, the urge to keep a trim, slim figure has become increasingly desired. Pressure from beauty campaigns and other societal influences have drawn a picture of what it means to be beautiful; The picture is a thin, flawless girl sporting a yellow polka dot bikini whose diet consists of strictly salad. As a result, tons of insane, unrealistic dieting plans have emerged, most of which are just fancy and expensive ways of starving yourself. While most of these are highly unethical, a couple have persevered to be quite successful, not only with keeping the number on your scale down, but also with keeping down the numbers of your cholesterol and blood pressure. The Mediterranean Diet, Pescetarianism, and
According to recent statistics, every year Americans spend about $50 billion on products and services promoted to help them lose weight. Many of the overweight and obese people that join commercial weight loss programs are looking for a quick fix to lose the weight, such as fad diets and dietary supplements that are marketed to burn fat fast. However, many of these diets offer little success or success for a short time, resulting in many gaining the weight back a short time afterwards. Fad diets are “a trendy practice that has widespread appeal among a population. After a period, however, people lose interest in the practice, and it becomes no longer fashionable. People often lose weight while following fad diets, but usually regain much of
A sad fact in American society is that thousands of people search for the elusive dream of being thin. On any given day, one finds neighbors, friends, and relatives on some kind of diet. Dieters assume various disguises, but the noteworthy ones are the "bandwagoneer," the "promiser" and the "lethal loser."
Weight problems have been on the rise since the early 1900’s. Today, Americans are fatter than medical science says we should be, and weights are still increasing. While many other countries have experienced increases in obesity, no other developed country is quite as big as the United States. In the mid-1900’s, most of the food preparation was done by families who cooked their own meals. Now there is a mass production of food preparations so families no longer have to put much effort into making a meal for themselves. In 1965, married women who didn’t work spent at least two to three hours per day cooking and cleaning up from meals she made. In 1995, the same tasks take less than half the time. The switch from individual to mass preparation lowered the time price of food consumption and led to increased quantity and variety of foods consumed.