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Weight Watchers has a new CEO. So what?

9/27/2012

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One of the most successful and profitable (Heck, you can buy stock in this company) weight loss enterprises is Weight Watchers. Founded by a Queens (New York City) housewife in 1961, the company was sold to HJ Heinz in 1978. But, as with many companies in the 1970s, it was bought by a private concern in 1999. This company took it public again (Read: more $$) in 2001, allowing anyone to own a piece (WTW ticker symbol) of the pie. Well, it may not be the most exciting stock to own but, if you owned it in 2010, you would have reaped a 30% profit and, if you had it in 2011, you would have been blessed with a 48% return. Its 1.3% dividend yield is frosting on the cake.

            Its present CEO, David Kirchhoff, had a predilection with ice cream and, a dozen years ago, his weight of 245 pounds reflected this addiction. His BMI of 30 placed him in the obese category. But when he joined Weight Watchers in 2000, he enrolled in its behavior modification classes and shed 40 pounds. His cholesterol fell from 260 to 170 and his BMI dropped to 25, not at LifeNuts level, but much better than 30.

            As a kid, David was skinny since family money was tight and in high school he had 170 pounds on his six-foot frame – a BMI of 23, very close to the 22 required to be a LifeNut. But college days changed his lifestyle and on came the pounds. Rising through the business world, he gained an impeccable reputation in management as his waistline gained inches. But, at 46, he’s young enough to change. And he realizes the scary truth about our national health care crisis: if we continue to lose the obesity battle, our government will crumple under the weight of its citizens. Literally.

            Weight Watchers costs money. And, if people spend money, they want their money’s worth, which is weight loss in this case. What happens if they quit spending money and leave Weight Watchers? Will the pounds return? Very likely. Do the research through Google or another search engine and you’ll find that folks who leave Weight Watchers or any other diet will eventually gain back the weight and perhaps more. Diets don’t work. Lifestyles do.

            There are a few differences between LifeNuts and Weight Watchers. One, LifeNuts is free. Two, LifeNuts involves a lifestyle change, which is much easier for children than for adults. LifeNuts also advocates primarily a plant-based diet – one that avoids meat and dairy products. Don’t forget the hara haichi bunme, too. A LifeNut engages in one aerobic session a day for six days each week plus one anaerobic day. A gentle walk around the neighborhood may be a fine start for someone 100 or more pounds overweight but you won’t lose weight and keep it off if you don’t exercise intensely in that aerobic hour. Many ways to do it: swimming, bicycling, running, spinning, etc.

            Now, if a community embraces LifeNuts and measures its participants each year (BMI, waistline, life expectancy), it holds each participant accountable. More importantly, being fit becomes the community norm, not the exception. Right now, it’s acceptable to be overweight or obese: 70% of Americans prove that. But, if AverageTown, USA, becomes a LifeNut community where the program is endorsed and publicized weekly by schools, restaurants, the media, neighborhood groups, and businesses, then being fit becomes normal. Being fit is cool. Being skinny is in. Having a low BMI becomes the norm. And the LifeNuts lifestyle saves dollars for the community and its businesses.

            Mr. Kirchhoff seems to be a nice guy: intelligent, compassionate, and managerially talented. If he leaves Weight Watchers (“I’ll see how long I last,” as he’s quoted in Barrons), will those pounds return? Only time will tell.

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Will we have to bury our children?

9/17/2012

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An article in today’s Wall Street Journal explored the sodium consumption of children and teens and found that they are, on average, consuming 3,387 mg of sodium a day. Combine that intake with obesity and you’ve got a significant risk of high blood pressure. In a child!! Good grief, you’re thinking. And it’s not all that salty taste – sodium is used as a preservative as well as a flavor in most processed foods. Read the labels. Do you know what the recommended daily sodium intake is? It's about 2,300 mg, though it’s much less (1500) for people with high blood pressure.

            Our president’s wife is supposedly fighting the national epidemic of childhood obesity but she’s losing the battle. Why? Children often regard their elders as role models. Look around. Do you see any adult males without a rubber tire bulging over their belt? Walk into a fast food restaurant and observe the hips, thighs, and bellies of the patrons. Then watch what they order. The Journal points out that 75% of the average American’s food comes from processed food or from restaurants – according to CDC.

            A child reasons that being fat must be OK if mom, dad, uncle Joe and aunt Sally, the newscasters, the mayor and city council folks are all overweight or obese. Kids aren’t dumb and they often imitate adults.

            The next time you’re in a restaurant, look around and you might notice that some kids and parents are either texting or checking out their apps on their phones or tablets. Silence prevails as they are glued to electronics. What? Go for a family walk after dinner? No way. I’d rather text my friends and sit on my butt. A huge percentage of a teenager’s time is devoted to the sedentary pastime of electronics. This increasing trend of little exercise and fatty foods has given us a startling statistic: 34% of US children are overweight or obese – again, according to our friends at CDC.

            For the first time in a century, the youngest generations of Americans are predicted to have a shorter lifespan than the older generations. Yes, some of us may end up burying our children, not a happy thought.

            Why does America have this problem? We love to eat, a fact that doesn’t escape authors (cookbooks are often best sellers) or diet proponents. How many people do you know who lost 10, 20, 30 or more pounds on a trendy diet and put the weight back on two years later? Diets don’t work. Lifestyles do.

            How can you help? Become a fit LifeNut, a role model for children.  Get rid of that belly fat. Get off high fat foods and switch to fruits and vegetables. Exercise daily. Yes, people may thing you're weird and call you "skinny." Get the LifeNuts program going in your community – which may be difficult if your mayor and city council people are overweight. If everyone around you is fat, it’s easy to blend in if you have a big belly. If everyone around you is thin, it’s more difficult.

            Next up. Weight Watchers and its new CEO.

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    Author

    Dr. Bob Kroeger is the founder of LifeNuts. He's also proud to be a LifeNut.

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