Jenny Craig is a popular weight loss program successfully used by many people in the United States and other counties. The Jenny Craig system is based on specific, prepackaged, low-calorie meals and a contract-based membership in the Jenny Craig program. While some people do have success with Jenny Craig, the meals provided by Jenny Craig are typically expensive, of low nutritional value and do not provide long-term results.
Poor Food Quality
One of the major disadvantages of Jenny Craig is that the plan uses prepackaged foods that are generally of poor nutritional quality. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine rates Jenny Craig as a poor diet plan as it lacks in fresh, low-fat and vegetarian options. In general, the prepackaged meals of the Jenny Craig plan are simply low in calories but not necessarily high in nutrition content. These meals may contain high levels of cholesterol and fat relative to their total calories. As a result of poor nutrition quality, some experts such as Dr. Deandrea refer to Jenny Craig as "low-calorie junk food."
High Cost
Jenny Craig requires members to purchase and eat specific prepackaged meals and snacks as part of the Jenny Craig meal plan. These meals can be very expensive relative to similar frozen meals that can be found in any grocery store. According to DietSpotlight.com, an independent diet review resource, the price of the Jenny Craig meals can add up over time. One common complaint is that by using packaged meals and not teaching healthy eating habits, Jenny Craig creates a dependency on its products in people who want to lose weight and keep weight off. In addition to the high cost of Jenny Craig food, the plan offers no money back guarantee for food purchased from the program.
Unqualified Counselors
As part of the Jenny Craig plan, members are encouraged to meet with counselors who provide advice on diet and nutrition. Dr. Deandrea points out that the counselors at Jenny Craig do not usually have any professional experience in nutrition and should not be thought of as health professionals. One of the most common consumer complaints about Jenny Craig described by "Health" magazine is that the counselors are more like pushy salespeople rather than health experts.
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