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.
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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