For one month in the summer of 2012 I was a size six, and that was thanks to a year and a half on WeightWatchers. I was in my early twenties, it was the first time I had really worked at losing weight, and it felt like all the pieces were finally coming together. I appreciated WW’s system: they didn’t tell you what you had to eat for each meal, instead they gave you the points structure (how many points you get to eat in a day and in a week) and info on what each food cost in points. It was like currency, and you got to decide how you wanted to spend your points. As you lost weight, your points allowance also went down, so it was a gradual progression into smaller portions and making better, longer-lasting food choices.
The annoying thing with WW though, was their constant tinkering and revamping of the program. It was simply Points when I joined, and I had a lot of success with that, but I’ve never had the same results with iterations that have followed (like PointsPlus or when they tried to rebrand themselves altogether as “WellnessWins,” oy gevolt). Well, WW has done it again, and this time they may have really, truly lost the plot. Business Insider reported over the weekend that WW has spent over $100 million on Sequence, an online telemedicine company that sells Ozempic for weight loss, and many longtime WW members are not happy about it:
WeightWatchers is moving away from the group support meetings the company is known for, pivoting instead to using obesity medications for weight loss.
WW International Inc. recently shuttered thousands of in-person meeting locations and inked a deal to acquire telemedicine startup Sequence for more than $100 million. The two-year-old company sells GLP-1s–better known by their brand names Ozempic and Wegovy–which can lead to dramatic weight loss.
Although the medication has gained popularity online and among celebrities, veteran WeightWatchers members aren’t all happy with the company’s pivot.
“WeightWatchers has kicked us to the curb,” one 15-year member told Bloomberg.
Some WeightWatchers members expressed concern that the company was abandoning its message of self-restraint for the easy solution of weight-loss medication.
“They’re not practicing what they preached… and now all of a sudden there’s a drug involved,” one member said during an April meeting.
Despite criticism from current WeightWatchers members who have remained loyal to the program for decades, Goldman Sachs analysts predict that the move toward weight-loss drugs could save the 60-year-old company from financial collapse. Analysts estimate that the company could generate $455 million in new revenue through an extra half million subscribers by 2025.
WeightWatchers has struggled in recent years to retain subscribers to its nutrition and diet program. Sequence, meanwhile, prescribes weight-loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy and helps patients afford the drugs through insurance and reimbursements. Before its acquisition, Sequence offered its services for $99 a month.
[From Business Insider]
So it’s pretty clear that this move is just about finances, right? It looks to me like these weight loss programs are being reactionary in the wake of Jenny Craig shutting down earlier this year, as Noom is also starting to offer Ozempic (so much for all you need to lose weight is psychology). I’ve been in and out with WeightWatchers since that first good run I had (currently in an out wave), but I totally understand the frustration of the members. For people who’ve been working diligently to suddenly be told to go on medication is disheartening. But the one-two punch is not just bringing in Ozempic, it’s the steep reduction in meetings. In my own WW journey I definitely lost more weight when I went to in-person meetings, as opposed to online-only.
In the last few weeks I’ve had a few people in my orbit either start Ozempic themselves or suggest it to me (as of this writing I am not diabetic, although every time I see my doctor I think my number’s gonna be up). I have no plans right now to start taking Ozempic to lose weight, but ultimately for me it comes down to vanity. I’ll risk nausea, frankly I’ll risk diarrhea, but hair loss? No. No no no. I’ve been gifted with natural curls that I adore and wear proudly. I am Samson, my hair is my crowning glory. I’ll renew my efforts to eat better and be healthier–if not for me, then for my hair.
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