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Issue: The Diet Industry
The Diet Industry
By: Lisa Rabasca Roepe
Pub. Date: March 5, 2018
Access Date: February 6, 2021
DOI: 10.1177/237455680408.n1
Source URL: http://businessresearcher.sagepub.com/sbr-1946-105904-2881576/20180305/the-diet-industry
©2021 SAGE Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
©2021 SAGE Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Will it adapt to changing attitudes?
Executive Summary
The $70.3 billion industry for diet products and plans is experiencing a shakeout as consumer perceptions shift. The industry still fills a
need, since about 70 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to government data. But attitudes about how to control
weight are changing, as many dieters bounce from one plan to another without finding satisfaction. Many give up on dieting altogether in
favor of a broader approach that emphasizes eating a wider variety of foods, exercising and seeking to sustain a healthy lifestyle. In
addition, new competitors are entering the field to challenge the traditional industry leaders, but the established firms are finding ways to
survive in the changing climate.
Key takeaways include:
The year 2017 was a period of recovery for the industry after several down years for major players such as Weight Watchers.
One well-established company, Nutrisystem, has been especially successful in adapting to a changing business environment by
seeking partnerships with major retailers.
Fitness apps and trackers, once seen as a potential industry disrupter, have had a mixed record, in part because owners often stop
using them after a few months.
Click hear to listen to an interview with author Lisa Rabasca Roepe.
Full Report
Sales of meals offered by Weight Watchers and other diet companies have declined as consumer preferences change.
(Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
For the last decade, Michelle Lowrey, 47, has wanted to lose weight. First she tried the SlimFast Plan, but says she could not stay on it for
longer than a month. Then she went on the Atkins diet and lost 10 pounds but found that, once she went off it, she quickly gained the weight
back.
Eventually, Lowrey, who lives in San Antonio, decided to ditch dieting altogether and try to lose weight on her own – but that didn’t work
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either. “I know what’s healthy and what’s not, but it’s hard to do it by myself,” she says. She decided to give dieting another try in January
2017 and turned to the Weight Watchers program. Since then, Lowrey has lost 40 pounds.
Lowrey’s weight-loss journey epitomizes many consumers’ experience. They try a diet, get tired of it and then try something else. After
several attempts, many give up on dieting and try to focus on healthy eating instead. The difference is one of emphasis: Most diet
regimens stress what not to eat and are associated with a mindset of deprivation, while healthy eating focuses on making better choices,
such as fruits and vegetables, and achieving a balance of foods.
“Diet is really a passé term,” says Jillian Bridgette Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Virtual Health Partners, which offers a platform that
provides a personalized nutrition plan. She says most people are looking for something sustainable that focuses not just on weight loss but
on wellness, which she defines as balancing fitness, nutrition and lifestyle modification. When consumers see TV shows such as “The
Biggest Loser” where contestants lose significant amounts of weight only to gain back every pound – something that has happened
repeatedly – they begin to question whether dieting is worth the effort, Cohen says. 1
In fact, the percentage of women who say they are currently on a diet has dropped 13 percentage points during the last two decades,
according to the NPD Group, a research firm in Herndon, Va. 2
This changing attitude may explain why the $70.3 billion diet industry is experiencing a significant shake-up. 3 As consumers put more
emphasis on being healthy rather than just slimming down, new approaches to wellness have challenged the traditional diet companies
that have dominated the industry for decades. Yet many of these companies are finding ways to adapt and to preserve or regain their
market share.
The diet industry covers a wide range of products and approaches. It includes diet soft drinks; artificial sweeteners; health clubs;
commercial diet center chains; multilevel marketing diet plans such as Herbalife; over-the-counter meal replacements and diet pills. The
industry also encompasses meal-kit delivery services such as Nutrisystem; low-calorie entrées and low-carbohydrate foods; diet books;
exercise DVDs; medical weight-loss programs and weight-loss surgery.
The industry instability is reflected in recent sales data. Some prominent traditional players in the diet business, such as Weight Watchers
and Medifast, experienced softening revenue from 2014 to 2016. 4 But things turned around in 2017, according to Marketdata LLC, an
independent market research firm in Tampa, Fla., that has tracked the U.S. weight loss industry since 1989. Sales for commercial diet
chains rose 14 percent that year and one major company, Nutrisystem, posted an estimated 27 percent gain, Marketdata reported. 5
Why the sudden reversal? Similar to Lowrey’s experience, about 500,000 do-
it-yourself dieters decided to join structured programs such as Jenny Craig,
Nutrisystem and Weight Watchers because they were not seeing results, says
John LaRosa, Marketdata’s research director. “People are not able to lose
weight and keep it off successfully on their own,” he says.
For a time there was much talk of apps such as MyFitnessPal disrupting the
industry, but research shows that most people stop using apps and fitness
trackers after three or four months and that the apps are not as effective as a
commercial diet program for long-term success. A survey of 6,223 U.S. adults
in 2014 found that while one in 10 owned an activity tracker such as a Fitbit or
Jawbone, more than half said they had stopped using it; one-third said they
stopped during the first six months of ownership. 6
These trends are playing out against a backdrop of heightened public concern
about the health risks associated with excess weight. About 70 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese, according to the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 7 Rates of obesity – defined as having an adult body mass index (BMI) that is 30
or higher (the normal range is 18.5 to 25) – have climbed steeply in recent years, according to CDC surveys. 8
A report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a public health philanthropy, predicts that by 2030, 13 states could have adult obesity
rates above 60 percent, 39 could have rates greater than 50 percent and the national rate could be above 44 percent. 9 The report
predicts that this increased obesity will lead to more than 6 million cases of type 2 diabetes, 5 million cases of coronary heart disease and
stroke and more than 400,000 cases of cancer in the next two decades. 10
South Suffers From Highest Obesity Rates
Percentage of obese adults by state, 2016
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Source: “Percent of Adults Obese: (State) (2016),” SAGE Stats/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last updated November 2017,
https://tinyurl.com/y99ehpgt
Most of the 10 states with the highest obesity rates in 2016 were in the South. West Virginia had the highest
rate, at 37.7 percent; the national median was just under 30 percent.
Other market forces also are at work. The rise in rates of obesity and diabetes creates an increased need for medical weight-loss
programs. But uncertainty about the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has led fewer people to enroll in weight-loss programs offered
by physicians, hospitals and clinics, LaRosa says.
Meanwhile, Millennials – now the largest age cohort in the United States – are less interested in eating processed foods with artificial
ingredients and more likely to shun diet sodas. 11 And while most traditional weight loss programs are aimed at the 35-year-old woman
with a couple of kids and a few pounds to lose, says LaRosa, diet programs are finding ways to expand their services to overweight men,
teenagers and senior citizens.
LaRosa predicts that the commercial weight loss programs’ 2017 rebound will continue. Marketdata forecasts an 11.7 percent gain for
Weight Watchers to $1.3 billion, a 5.7 percent gain for Jenny Craig to $334 million and an 8.1 percent gain for Medifast to $296 million, he
says.
In fact, Nutrisystem sales have been growing in double digits during the last three or four years, LaRosa says. Part of the reason for
Nutrisystem’s success is that it has broadened its retail distribution by enlisting a variety of partners, including Costco, QVC, Walmart and
Amazon, which offer a $49 trial Nutrisystem pack that allows consumers to test it before spending nearly $300 on a 28-day supply.
Nutrisystem aims to simplify dieting by shipping prepackaged meals and desserts directly to the client, who supplements the meals with
fruits, vegetables, nuts, fresh meat and dairy.
In contrast, programs such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig have shunned using outside channels to deliver their program and
products, LaRosa says. Participation in Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig requires going to their meetings, where their shakes, minibars
and proportioned snacks are for sale. “You can’t always ask people to come to you and commit to a weekly meeting,” LaRosa says. Both
Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig declined to comment.
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Another advantage Nutrisystem enjoys over Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig is that it offers different programs for men, women, senior
citizens and diabetics. Brands such as SlimFast and Nutrisystem are more popular with men, LaRosa says, because male dieters are
less likely to join a structured program and go to a weekly meeting where women outnumber men three to one.
LaRosa expects more weight loss services to move toward retail distribution. “Both Walmart and Amazon.com have made it clear that
they want to be major players in the health care system,” he says. In January, Amazon announced plans to join with Berkshire Hathaway
and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to create an independent health care company for their U.S. employees. 12 However, LaRosa says, it is
unclear whether Amazon wants to enter the weight loss market. “We’ll probably see Walmart increase the number of in-store miniclinics,
where weight loss services can be provided, following in the footsteps of CVS, Rite-Aid and other drugstore chains,” he says.
CVS Health is another entrant in the market. The pharmacy chain offers one-on-one coaching assisted by doctors and nurse practitioners,
making it eligible for reimbursement under the ACA. Some CVS miniclinics have added weight loss programs, LaRosa says, but most
locations have not marketed them well, so CVS is not yet a strong competitor.
The Bubble Bursts on Diet Colas
The weight loss market is expected to grow 3.2 percent in 2018, to $70.3 billion, with commercial chains and meal replacements leading
the way, LaRosa says. However, this is about half the industry’s growth rate in the 1990s and early 2000, he said. LaRosa blames the
lower growth on the declining diet soft drink market.
Sales of diet colas, in particular, have been hit hard despite the fact that the soda industry has tried to respond with reformulated sodas
that use natural sweeteners. In 2014, Coca-Cola introduced Coca-Cola Life, made with the natural sweetener Stevia instead of an artificial
sweetener such as aspartame or sucralose. 13 Pepsi introduced a similar product, Pepsi True, in 2014. 14 Yet neither of these products
has been able to reinvigorate the diet cola industry. In fact, between 2012 and 2017, U.S. retail sales of low-calorie colas declined 24
percent, while sales of flavored bottled waters, such as LaCroix, increased 84.5 percent, according to the market research firm
Euromonitor International.
“Attitudes towards health and wellness have changed,” says Howard Telford, head of soft drinks at Euromonitor International. Younger
consumers perceive flavored carbonated waters as a healthier product than diet colas, Telford says.
In an effort to capture more Millennials, Coca-Cola recently announced plans to make Diet Coke more enticing by introducing four fruit
flavors: ginger lime, “twisted” mango, “zesty” blood orange and “feisty” cherry. 15 These sodas are packaged in skinny, colorful cans,
similar to popular flavored carbonated waters, and sweetened with acesulfame potassium, an artificial sweetener also known as Ace-K.
However, Telford says, Coca-Cola will continue to produce Diet Coke with sucralose because its core consumers are very brand-loyal and
prefer its taste to that of other diet colas. “Coca-Cola wants to win new consumers, but it doesn’t want to lose [the] core brand-loyal
drinker,” he says. In fact, the company recently rolled out a new Diet Coke ad campaign, “Because I Can,” which focuses on Millennials
doing things in life that make them happy no matter what anyone else thinks. 16
Despite – or perhaps because of – such repositioning efforts, most
consumers are overwhelmed, confused and often frustrated by conflicting diet
information, says Dr. Lawrence J. Cheskin, director of the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Weight Management Center. There is a
good deal of confusion about dieting, even among professionals, Cheskin
says, and “some people are hoping for miracles.”
In fact, even though surgical procedures such as bariatric surgery, which
reduces the size of the stomach, is rarely covered by insurance, “people are
banging the doors down for them,” he says. That is true even though the
average cost of bariatric surgery is $11,500 to $26,000 and lap band surgery,
which places an adjustable silicone band around the top part of the stomach
to restrict food intake, costs on average $14,500. 17 Yet most people fail to
understand that, even with an expensive surgical procedure, they still need to
change their lifestyle to keep the pounds off. “I’ve seen people regain the
weight after a gastric bypass, which is an expensive, painful, long-term
procedure,” Cheskin says.
History of the Diet Industry
An actor holds a can of Diet Coke as part of the company’s
In Europe and America in the 19th century and earlier, to be overweight was “Because I Can” rebranding ad campaign. (Photo/Coca Cola)
often taken as a sign of affluence and success: Only the wealthy could afford
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SAGE Business Researcher©2021 SAGE Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. to overindulge on food and drink. That view slowly began to change in the past 150 years as increased agricultural yields, growing industrialization and scientific advances enabled people to eat more food and live longer. Dieting can be traced back to at least 1825, when Jean Brillat-Savarin, a French politician, author and gastronome, introduced a low- carbohydrate diet. Since then, a growing number of Americans have been looking for a quick fix for weight loss. However, many pioneering diets were mere fads and not science-based. In the 1920s, the cigarette diet coincided with the Lucky Strike cigarettes ad campaign that urged, “Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet.” In 1930s, and again in 1950s, Americans believed eating grapefruit with every meal would lead to weight loss. 18 But research on diets and understanding surrounding weight loss slowly improved in the latter half of the 20th century. Weight Watchers, which was introduced in 1961 and focused on “eating management,” continues to be popular, as are several other diets introduced in the 1990s and later. They include the Mediterranean diet, which recommends a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and healthy fats; Atkins, which promotes foods high in fat and protein, such as beef and bacon; the South Beach Diet, which limits white bread, potatoes, white rice, white pasta, baked goods, fruit and alcohol; and the Paleo Diet, which focuses on meat, vegetables and fruit while avoiding processed foods. All these conflicting strategies, however, have taken a toll on the industry’s credibility. A 2015 survey of U.S. consumers by Mintel Group Ltd., a London-based market intelligence agency, found that 94 percent no longer see themselves as dieters, 77 percent said diet products are not as healthy as they claim to be and 61 percent said most diets are not healthy. 19 Cheskin cautions that many people remain interested in losing weight, despite the growing skepticism surrounding dieting. The change in consumer attitudes is a broader recognition that it does not work to starve for two weeks and then forget about dieting, he says. A great percentage of people are aware of what they need to do to lose weight, but many lack the resolve to do it, he says. Reinventing Low-Calorie Entries Diet colas are not the only diet product that is losing customers. Sales of low-calorie entrées such as Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice and the Weight Watchers brand of frozen meals have been steadily declining for about five years, LaRosa says. The Lean Cuisine brand alone lost more than $400 million in sales between 2011 and 2016. 20 However, Lean Cuisine achieved a turnaround in 2017 after parent company Nestle improved the brand’s packaging and began reformulated its recipes by cutting down on artificial ingredients. In fact, the brand announced in 2015 that it eschews the term “diet.” “No longer focused on diet, the Lean Cuisine brand relied on insights from hundreds of women as it evolved to reflect a shift in the way Americans – primarily women – are eating and shopping,” the company said in a press release. It said its entrées have evolved to meet changing customer demands for reduced sodium, more varieties of vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. The brand also introduced 10 new recipes made with organic ingredients and no genetically modified organisms. The new entrées are designed to appeal to Millennials, who are more likely than Baby Boomers and Gen Xers to focus on eating fresh foods, avoiding artificial sweeteners and highly processed foods and read food labels, according to Cohen of Virtual Health Partners. For them, it is not just about how many calories they are eating but what they are eating, she says. “They don’t want to eat frozen foods full of sodium.” Weight Watchers Projected to End Decline Company revenue, 2012-17 Page 6 of 12 The Diet Industry SAGE Business Researcher
©2021 SAGE Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Note: Revenue for 2017 is a forecast.
Sources: “Annual Financials for Weight Watchers International Inc.,” Market Watch, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/y9pv2jlc; “The U.S. Weight Loss Market in
2018 – Forecasts,” WebWire, Dec. 6, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/ydxku2ly
Weight Watchers’ projected revenue rose to $1.3 billion in 2017 after four years of decline but remained below
the 2012 figure.
Weight Watchers also has been finding ways to be more appealing to Millennials. In 2015, media superstar and entrepreneur Oprah
Winfrey bought a 10 percent stake in the company and become its spokesperson. In 2018, it announced plus-size star DJ Khaled would
represent the company as a social media ambassador, documenting his progress and speaking about how he says the program gives
him enough flexibility to make healthier choices despite his busy lifestyle. 21
These celebrity endorsements go a long way toward keeping Weight Watchers relevant and profitable, LaRosa says. He says adding
Khaled is an effort to attract another demographic in addition to Millennials: men. Currently, 85 percent of Weight Watchers clients are
women, he says. In any case, the company’s stock value keeps climbing. In 2015, when Winfrey paid $43 million for her stake in it, Weight
Watchers’ share price closed the year at $22.80. In February 2018, it was trading above $70. 22
Part of Weight Watchers’ success may be predicated on its evolution into a less restrictive eating program. Earlier iterations required
customers to eat a specific number of servings from each food group every day. Over the years, the plan has moved away from restricting
serving sizes. In 2018, Weight Watchers introduced its Freestyle plan, which offers more than 200 foods that can be eaten without
restriction, including eggs, skinless chicken breast, seafood, corn, beans, lentils and tofu. 23 Clients do not need to track, measure or
weigh those foods, making it more convenient to follow the program.
Size Acceptance Gains Ground
Despite the success of Weight Watchers and Nutrisystem, each year more people drop out of diets. In 1990, when researchers asked
overweight Americans if they were trying to lose weight, 56 percent said yes. By 2017, that number had fallen to 49 percent, despite the
higher rates of overweight and obese people. 24
Part of the explanation for this apparent contradiction may be found in a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association,
which said that overweight and obese individuals are increasingly reporting that they are satisfied with their weight. 25 The researchers
who conducted the study say they are not surprised by the results. “Previously, we observed that socially accepted normal weight has been
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shifting towards more heavier, and more and more American with overweight or obesity incorrectly believed that their body weight were
just fine,” says one of the researchers, Dr. Jian Zhang, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public
Health of Georgia Southern University.
Watch video with sociologist Stephanie Medley-Rath on obesity:
Jelly Malenga, 39, realized a dozen years ago that dieting was never going to help her reduce. She started gaining weight at 19 and tried
many programs – Slimfast, Weight Watchers, Atkins, even a cabbage soup diet – but nothing worked. “I had family and friends who would
do it with me and they would have great results and I wouldn’t,” she says.
Malenga says she eventually discovered that she had a hormonal imbalance that caused her body to develop cysts and small tumors that
led to weight gain. These cysts were brought on by the stress of being on a diet and following a rigorous exercise plan, she says.
Today, Malenga runs the Ms. Bella (Full-Figured) Pageant, a plus-size empowerment show in Nashville, Tenn., as well as Auntie Jelly’s
Events, which plans parades, festivals, mixers and fashion shows featuring men, women and children of all sizes. The size-acceptance
movement has grown since the first Ms. Bella Pageant eight years ago, she says. Attendance went from 182 people in its first year to 500
in each of the last four years.
As obesity levels increase, LaRosa expects more serious medical conditions to crop up and more consumers who will need to join a
medically supervised program that can treat their diabetes and other medical issues. Demand for such programs will increase, especially
since commercial programs such as Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and Nutrisytem have not expressed an interest in providing them,
LaRosa says.
LaRosa also expects to see more weight loss services provided by technology through webinars, apps and podcasts that are accessible
from home around the clock. There are also some untapped markets that could help the industry to expand. These include overweight
teenagers, senior citizens, black and Hispanic women and people with food sensitivities or allergies. “No one is developing diet services
for these groups,” LaRosa says.
About the Author
Lisa Rabasca Roepe is a journalist who writes about the culture of work, personal finance and technology. Her work has appeared in Fast
Company, Ozy.com, Family Circle, Good, Quartz, The Week, HR Magazine, Men’s Journal and Eater. She also is a Forbes contributor.
She has written previously for Business Researcher on business accelerators, craft brewers, the restaurant business and video games.
Chronology
1825-1962 Early diet fads range from cigarettes to cabbage.
1825 French politician, author and gastronome Jean Brillat-Savarin introduces a low-carbohydrate diet in a book titled “The
Physiology of Taste.”
1920s The cigarette diet coincides with the ad campaign “Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet.”
1930 The grapefruit diet, which recommends eating half a grapefruit with every meal, gains popularity.
1934 United Fruit Co. promotes the bananas and skim milk diet. Only four to six bananas and three to four glasses of skim
milk are allowed during the first two weeks; protein sources and vegetables are permitted the following two weeks, but
no carbohydrates or fat.
1950 The cabbage soup diet is introduced. Dieters can eat as much of it as they want two or three times a day.
1958 Diet Rite cola debuts, followed by TaB and Diet Dr. Pepper in 1963 and Diet Pepsi the following year.
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1963-1985 Diet program companies emerge.
1963 Jean Nidetch, a 214-pound woman from Queens, N.Y., incorporates Weight Watchers after losing 72 pounds.
1972 Nutrisystem is founded by Philadelphia entrepreneur Harold Katz.
1981 The Beverly Hills Diet is introduced in a bestseller written by Judy Mazel, who runs a weight-loss clinic in Beverly Hills,
Calif. Dieters eat exclusively fruit the first 10 days and then transition to eating mostly fruit the next 25 days.
1982 The Cola-Cola Co. introduces Diet Coke.
1983 Jenny Craig is founded in Melbourne, Australia, by gym owner Jenny Craig and her husband, Sidney Craig.
1995-Present New diets emerge as obesity rate rises.
1995 Dr. Barry Sears introduces the Zone Diet with his bestselling books that promote eating a 40-30-30 ratio of
carbohydrates, fat and protein.
2001 The Atkins Diet – which allows high-fat, high-protein foods, such as beef and bacon, and low-carbohydrate vegetables,
including kale, spinach and broccoli – gains popularity. The diet was originally developed in the 1960s.
2003 The South Beach Diet, which eliminates white bread, potatoes, white rice, white pasta, baked goods, fruit and alcohol
for the first two weeks of the program, becomes popular.
2010 The Paleo Diet, which recommends eating lean meat, fish and fruit and avoiding processed foods with added salt,
sugar and preservatives, is popularized in a book by Dr. Loren Cordain.
2015 Media superstar and entrepreneur Oprah Winfrey buys a 10 percent stake in Weight Watchers; the company’s stock
price soars.
2017 About 70 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.… Commercial weight loss programs enjoy strong sales after some, such as Weight Watchers and
Medifast, suffered declines between 2014 and 2016.
Resources for Further Study
Bibliography
Books
Agatston, Arthur, “The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss,” Rodale,
2003. A cardiologist outlines a diet that includes meat, poultry and fish, as well as eggs, cheese and vegetables, but eliminates white flour,
white sugar and baked potatoes.
Atkins, Robert C., “Doctor Atkins’ Diet Revolution,” Bantam, 1981. A medical doctor lays out a low-carbohydrate approach to losing
weight.
Cordain, Loren, “The Paleo Diet Revised Edition: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat,”
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. A professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University outlines how
eating like our ancestors ate 10,000 years ago – lean meats and fish, fresh fruits and non-starchy vegetables – will promote weight loss.
Foxcroft, Louise, “Calories and Corsets: A History of Dieting Over 2,000 Years,” Profile Books, 2013. A historian and journalist writes
about consumers’ complicated relationship with food, fashion and fads of body shape, and how cultural beliefs and social norms have
changed over time.
Lindstrom, Simeon, “Mindful Eating: A Healthy, Balanced and Compassionate Way to Stop Overeating, How to Lose Weight and Get a
Real Taste of Life by Eating Mindfully,” Amazon Digital Services, 2014. A life coach and health counselor explores the reasons people
overeat and how they can become in tune with their appetite.
Articles
Aubrey, Allison, “Is Dieting Passe? Study Finds Fewer Overweight People Try To Lose Weight,” NPR, March 8, 2017,
http://tinyurl.com/yanb5x7v. A writer examines why an increasing number of overweight Americans have lost the motivation to diet.
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The Diet Industry
SAGE Business Researcher©2021 SAGE Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Chen, Angus, “Diet Foods Are Tanking. So The Diet Industry Is Now Selling ‘Health,’” NPR, Jan. 20, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/ybmncxd6. A journalist looks at how sales of diet food products have dropped in recent years because of consumer disillusionment with their effectiveness. Kolata, Gina, “After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Retain Weight,” The New York Times, May 2, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/hwztkpa. A science and medical reporter explores why contestants on the television show “The Biggest Loser” fail to keep off the weight they lose. Lynch, Rene, “A brief timeline shows how we’re gluttons for diet fads,” Los Angeles Times, Feb. 28, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/y82eo6bm. A writer offers a timeline of diets from the 1830s to the present. Reports and Studies “US Diet Trends Market Report,” Mintel, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/yamdwe2q. This annual report by a market intelligence agency looks at the market for diet products and services and finds that many consumers are rejecting the term “diet.” “The U.S. Weight Loss Market in 2018 – Forecasts,” Marketdata, Dec. 6, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/ydxku2ly. A market research firm examines the weight loss industry and concludes that commercial chains such as Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig are well- positioned to increase sales in 2018. The Next Step Body Positivity “What Everyone Is Getting Wrong About Body Positivity,” Health.com, Nov. 9, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/yc65s7wt. Although the goal of body positivity is to redefine the norm for beauty standards, the movement still perpetuates objectifying women, says the cofounder of a body positivity nonprofit group. Dastagir, Alia E., “Body positivity is everywhere, but is it for everyone?” USA Today, Aug. 2, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/yb75j8ra. Five body positivity activists offer their take on the movement and give advice on how to keep the core message – inclusivity of all bodies – from getting lost. Feldman, Jamie, “Honestly, The Term ‘Body Positive’ Lost Its Meaning A Long Time Ago,” HuffPost, Nov. 30, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/y9l474hp. The term “body positive” has lost its impact as more fashion brands and companies embrace the trend, sometimes creating suspicions that they do so as marketing ploys to increase profits, argues a fashion and lifestyle editor. Wearable Devices Gonzalez, Robbie, “Science Says Fitness Trackers Don’t Work. Wear One Anyway,” Wired, Dec. 25, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/y9ntffyb. Most studies on the effectiveness of wearable fitness devices are outdated or poorly designed, and several products have been significantly improved, says a Wired writer. Lamkin, Paul, “Smartwatch Popularity Booms With Fitness Trackers On The Slide,” Forbes, Feb. 22, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/yasheno3. Smartwatches, particularly Apple’s version, have outpaced fitness trackers in 2017 and are expected to continue outselling them in 2018, according to data from an industry analysis company. Sly, Liz, “Military reviews rules on wearable tech amid fitness tracker concerns,” Boston Globe, Jan. 29, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/ya6og75j. A fitness-tracking company unwittingly revealed highly sensitive military information, including the location of bases and patrol and convoy routes, from collected user data. The U.S. military has had to reexamine its policies on all wireless and technological devices used in military facilities as a result. Organizations Euromonitor International 60-61 Britton St., London EC1M 5UX, United Kingdom +44 (0)20 7251 8024 www.euromonitor.com/ An international market research company that has examined the soft drink industry. Jenny Craig 5770 Fleet St., Carlsbad, CA 92008-9446 Page 10 of 12 The Diet Industry SAGE Business Researcher
©2021 SAGE Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 1-760-696-4000 www.jennycraig.com/ A weight loss program designed to provide structure and support to help members lose weight and learn how to keep it off. Marketdata LLC 7210 Wareham Drive, Tampa, FL 33647 1-813-971-8080 www.marketdataenterprises.com An independent market research firm that has tracked the U.S. weight loss industry since 1989. Mintel Group Ltd. 11 Pilgrim St., London, UK EC4V 6RN +44 (0) 20 7606 4533 www.mintel.com/ A privately owned market research firm that issues reports on the food and drink industry. National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance PO Box 4662. Foster City, CA 94404-0662 1-916-558-6880 https://www.naafaonline.com/dev2/index.html A nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the rights and improving the quality of life of fat people. Nutrisystem 600 Office Center Drive, Fort Washington, PA 19034 1-800-585-5483 www.nutrisystem.com/ A home-delivery weight loss program. Weight Watchers 11 Madison Ave., Floor 17, New York, NY 10010-3661 1-212-589-2700 www.weightwatchers.com A weight loss program that features weekly meetings and weigh-ins. Notes [1] Gina Kolata, “After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Retain Weight,” The New York Times, May 2, 2016, https://tinyurl.com/hwztkpa. [2] John Kell, “Lean times for the diet industry,” Fortune, May 22, 2015, https://tinyurl.com/j9t7nb3. [3] “The U.S. Weight Loss Market in 2018 – Forecasts,” WebWire, Dec. 6, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/ydxku2ly. [4] “Annual Financials for Weight Watchers International Inc.,” Market Watch, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/y9pv2jlc; “Medifast Revenue, Profits – MED Annual Income Statement,” Amigobulls, Feb. 20, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/ybhqxygg. [5] “The U.S. Weight Loss Market in 2018,” op. cit.. [6] Teena Maddox, “Wearables have a dirty little secret: 50% of users lose interest,” TechRepublic, Feb. 13, 2014, https://tinyurl.com/yc5yeozd. [7] “Obesity and Overweight,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, May 3, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/h3wdjc7. [8] “Obesity Rates &Trends Overview,” Trust for America’s Health/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, August 2017, https://tinyurl.com/yatzege2; “Defining Adult Overweight and Obesity,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last updated June 16, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/ycqzunyy. [9] J Levi, et al., “F As In Fat,” Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Sept. 1, 2012, https://tinyurl.com/y929ayea. [10] Ibid. [11] Richard Fry, “Millennials overtake Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation,” Pew Research Center, April 25, 2016, https://tinyurl.com/hapcwq3; Page 11 of 12 The Diet Industry SAGE Business Researcher
©2021 SAGE Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. “We Are What We Eat: Healthy Eating Trends Around the World,” Nielsen N.V., January 2015, http://tinyurl.com/zpfyenb. [12] “Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to partner on U.S. employee healthcare,” Business Wire, Jan. 30, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/y887pu45; Nick Wingfield, Katie Thomas and Reed Abelson, “Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Team Up to Try to Disrupt Health Care,” The New York Times, Jan. 30, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/ycq8rx4a. [13] “Coca-Cola Life Arrives On Shelves Nationwide,” Coca-Cola Journey, Nov. 4, 2014, https://tinyurl.com/lnz7rll. [14] Bruce Horovitz, “Pepsi True to launch only on Amazon,” USA Today, Oct. 1, 2014, https://tinyurl.com/ybdj62co. [15] Holly Van Hare, “Diet Coke’s new flavors contain controversial ingredient ‘Ace-K,’ ” Los Angeles Times, Jan. 12, 2018, http://tinyurl.com/y8olk4cu. [16] Jay Moye, “ ‘Because I Can’: Diet Coke Launches Campaign to Support Rebrand in North America,” Coca-Cola Journey, Jan. 26, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/yad9j6bj. [17] “100 Million Dieters, $20 Billion: The Weight-Loss Industry by the Numbers,” ABC News, May 8, 2012, https://tinyurl.com/7lsrqwp; “Weight Loss Surgery Insurance Coverage and Costs,” Obesity Coverage, Oct. 3, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/yc5n3k3l. [18] Rene Lynch, “A brief timeline shows how we’re gluttons for diet fads,” Los Angeles Times, Feb. 28, 2015, https://tinyurl.com/y82eo6bm. [19] “Weighing The Odds: Diet Products Fall Out Of Favor As 91% Of U.S. Consumers Prefer Well-Rounded Diets,” Mintel, Jan. 8, 2016, https://tinyurl.com/ycn7c4ef. [20] Patty Odell, “Lean Cuisine’s Package Redesign Drives $58 Million Sales Increase in One Year,” Chief Marketer, May 4, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/yb4zlkcy. [21] Joe Ciolli, “Weight Watchers enlists DJ Khaled in a strategy that has already seen Oprah boost its stock 500%,” Business Insider, Jan. 3, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/ycmb68df. [22] Steven Zeitchik, “Chief executive Oprah? How Winfrey has fared as a businesswoman since ending her talk show,” The Washington Post, Jan. 9, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/y9egyn4k; “Weight Watchers International Inc.,” MarketWatch, https://tinyurl.com/ybgqoyct. [23] “All About Our 200+ Zero Points® Foods,” Weight Watchers, undated, https://tinyurl.com/y7mwjb9j. [24] Allison Aubrey, “Is Dieting Passe? Study Finds Fewer Overweight People Try To Lose Weight,” NPR, March 8, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/yanb5x7v. [25] Kassandra R. Snook, et al., “Change in Percentages of Adults With Overweight or Obesity Trying to Lose Weight, 1988-2014,” Journal of the American Medical Association, March 7, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/yazdf7cc. Page 12 of 12 The Diet Industry SAGE Business Researcher
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