Weight Watchers, which got its start in the early 1960s, bases its program on changing your lifestyle instead of relying on temporary dieting. The program emphasizes healthier food choices, portion control, exercise and community support. Participants pay a fee to attend meetings and/or follow the program online.
The Plan
Weight Watchers assigns point values to every food and a daily target for participants, who can decide which foods to spend their points on. Want that piece of chocolate? Go ahead, but deduct it from your daily allotment. A food's point value is based on its fat, carbohydrates, protein and fiber content. Most fruits and vegetables have a point value of zero, making them an attractive choice for participants. Exercise earns bonus points to spend on food. The goal of the plan is a weight loss of 1 to 2 lbs. per week.
Meetings
A study published in May 2010 in the "American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine" underscored the importance of support for those who are trying to lose weight. Researchers, who focused on overweight adults at risk of developing type-2 diabetes, studied participants in a six-month Weight Watchers program. They found that those who attended more meetings lost more weight and posted significantly lower fasting glucose and insulin levels, reducing their likelihood of developing diabetes. Those who attended fewer meetings had less success. Weight Watchers participants who can't attend meetings can interact with other dieters on the website's forums.
Exercise
Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia published a study in June 2008 comparing the effectiveness of the Weight Watchers program with a gym membership. Measuring body composition, as well as number of pounds lost, the study found that though Weight Watchers participants lost an average 9 lbs. in 12 weeks, much of the loss came in lean tissue rather than fat. The gym group lost fewer pounds but had less body fat at the end of the study. The study, published in the "Journal of Exercise Physiology," also found, however, that those who only went to the gym were more likely to quit than those who attended the Weight Watchers support meetings.
Heart Health
A study published in October 2007 in the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association" ranked Weight Watchers second among popular diets in promoting a healthy heart. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School compared Weight Watchers with six other diets, including the Ornish diet, the Atkins diet and the Zone diet. It found that an emphasis on fruits, vegetables and whole grains, as in the Weight Watchers program, was the most important factor in determining a diet's heart benefits.
References
- EurekaAlert.org; Weight Watchers vs. Fitness Centers; July 2008
- EurekaAlert.org; New Study Finds Attending Weight Watchers Meetings Helps Reduce the Risk for Type 2 Diabetes; May 2010
- "Annals of Internal Medicine"; Evaluation of the Major Commercial Weight Loss Programs; January 2005
- Drugs.com; Study Rates Heart Health of Popular Diet Plans; October 2007
- Weight Watchers: Get the Weight-Loss Edge
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