The Effectiveness of Weight Watchers

By Leana Scherer

…OR DOES IT?

Objectives

• Understand what is the Weight Watchers approach

• Examine research on the effectiveness of Weight Watchers

What is Weight Watchers?

• An international company that offers dieting products and services to assist with weight loss and management.

• Uses a point system to assign foods a “cost”

• The overall goal with the points was originally to create a calorie deficit, but the new system has put a focus on other goals as well

• Participants can attend in-person meetings or participate in an online-only program

Does it work? According to the studies…

• The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2005

• Comparison of Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction

-A one year study, 160 participants were randomly assigned to one of the four diets.

-Participants were overweight or obese between ages 22-72yo with known hypertension, dyslipidemia, or fasting hyperglycemia

Atkins Zone Weight Watchers

Ornish

CHO restriction

Macronutrient balance

Calorie Restriction

Fat Restriction

53% adherence

65% 65% 50%

Mean weight loss 4.6 lbs

7 lbs 6.6 lbs 7.3 lbs

Results:

•With all four diets weight loss predicted improvements in several cardiac risk factors•They all significantly reduced LDL/HDL ratio, c-reactive protein, and insulin levels•No significant difference between diets

• Public Health Nutrition, 2008

• Comparison of the effects of four commercially available weight-loss programmes on lipid-based cardiovascular risk factors

• Study took place in the UK, 300 obese and overweight men and women were placed in 5 study groups—4 popular weight loss regimes and 1 control group

• Weight was taken and blood tests performed at baseline, 8 weeks, and 24 weeks

Results after 6 months:

Atkins Slim-fast Weight Watchers

Rosemary Conley

Control diet

Low CHO Low fat meal replacement

Low fat, low cal

Low fat, low cal +weekly exercise

No dietary intervention in first 6 months

Mean Weight loss

8.9 kg 6.7 kg 8 kg 8.8 kg +.9 kg

Results Continued…

Conclusions

• There is not currently any research on the new version of Weight Watchers so the effectiveness of the PointsPlus program remains to be seen.

• The research on the old version shows moderate weight loss can be achieved and is associated with improvements in blood lipids.

• There is no evidence to show that Weight Watchers is more or less effective than other popular diets

Exam Questions

Q: How is the “cost” of foods determined in the current weight watchers program? And how was it determined in the old program?

A: Currently based on macronutrients, Initially points were assigned based on calories and fat content

Q: Is Weight Watchers a more effective diet than other popular diets?

A: More research is needed but current studies are inconclusive as to which diets are more effective

References

• Dansinger, M., Gleason, J., Griffith, J., Selker, H., & Schaefer, E. (2005). Comparison of the atkins, ornish, weight watchers, and zone diets for weight loss and heart disease risk reduction. Journal of the American Medical Association, 293(1), 43-53.

• Morgan, L., Griffin , B., Millward, D., DeLooy, A., Fox, K., Baic, S., & Bonham, M. (2008). Comparison of the effects of four commercially available weight loss programmes on lipid-based cardiovascular risk factors. Public Health Nutrition, 12(6), 799-807.