WeightWatchers 2013 Annual Report Download - page 16

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The Global Weight Management Market
We participate in the global weight management market. According to Marketdata Enterprises, the weight
management industry had revenue of approximately $62 billion in 2012 in the United States alone. The number
of overweight and obese people has steadily increased around the world over the past 20 years and is estimated to
reach approximately 3.0 billion by 2015, primarily driven by changing eating patterns and increasingly sedentary
lifestyles. Between 2009 and 2010, 69% of Americans at or over the age of 20 were considered overweight and
over a third of these were obese. Numerous diseases, including heart disease, high blood pressure and Type II
diabetes, are associated with being overweight or obese.
Our Services and Products
Our Weight Management Plans
In each of our markets, we offer services and products that are built upon our weight management program
which is comprised of a range of nutritional, exercise and behavioral tools and approaches. Beginning towards
the end of fiscal 2013, we launched globally a new, two-week starter plan, known as Simple Start in NACO, built
upon a foundation of Weight Watchers Power Foods, which are low in energy density. This starter plan provides
an on-ramp to our weight management plan, PointsPlus as it is known in NACO, or ProPoints as it is known in
certain of our other geographies. PointsPlus is an innovative weight loss system, developed from a combination
of advancements in scientific research and insights of customers who experienced prior Weight Watchers plans.
With the PointsPlus system, each food has a PointsPlus value determined by a unique and proprietary formula
based on the food’s protein, carbohydrates, fat and dietary fiber content. The formula takes into account how
these nutrients are processed by the body as well as their impact on satiety. Subject to certain nutritional
guidelines, customers following the PointsPlus system can eat any food as long as the PointsPlus value of their
total food consumption stays within their personalized PointsPlus “budget”. Since nutritious foods generally
have low PointsPlus values, this approach guides customers toward healthier eating habits. In 2013 we
introduced the Weight Watchers 360° plan, which also built upon the benefits of the PointsPlus system by
adding education and tools for customers to navigate environments in which they live day-to-day and behavioral
steps and strategies to develop routines to help enhance long-term weight management success. We continue to
offer the benefits of this education and these tools to our customers.
Our Clinical Efficacy
Our program is one of the most clinically-studied commercial weight management programs, with more
than 80 peer-reviewed publications in the last 20 years. For example, in fiscal 2012, a clinical trial funded by the
National Institutes of Health in the United States found that individuals following Weight Watchers lost more
weight, on average, over a 48-week period than those following a program administered by healthcare
professionals preceding a period of time of following Weight Watchers. Similarly, in 2013, a randomized
controlled trial conducted by the Baylor College of Medicine researchers and funded by us was published in The
American Journal of Medicine and found that overweight and obese adults following Weight Watchers lost
significantly more weight at six months than those who tried to lose weight on their own.
Our Meetings
We present our program in a series of weekly meetings of approximately one hour in duration. Meetings are
conveniently scheduled throughout the day. Typically, we hold meetings in either meeting rooms in well-located
civic or other community centers or space leased in retail centers.
Our group support system remains the cornerstone of our meetings. Members provide each other support by
sharing their experiences with, and by providing encouragement and empathy to, other people experiencing
similar weight management challenges. This group support provides the reassurance that no one must overcome
his or her weight management challenge alone. Group support assists members in building healthy routines that
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