Weight Watchers announces program change for 2013

Weight Watchers announces program change for 2013

In a world where the average person makes more than 200 food-related decisions each day – only about 15 of which they are aware[1]- people need more than knowledge to lose weight and learn to keep it off. Today, New Zealand’s largest and most successful weight-loss organisation announces Weight Watchers 360°, a weight-loss program built for human nature and designed to build on tracking ProPoints® values to help make healthy choices automatic.

Launching in January 2013, Weight Watchers 360° will provide customers with hands-on support and unique strategies to help put them in control of their weight-loss, positioning Weight Watchers as the only commercial weight-loss organisation in the world to translate the emerging science of hedonics - eating food for pleasure - into its program.

This latest weight-loss innovation arrives as a growing body of evidence shows that today’s overloaded food environment is one of the most important reasons people tend to overeat, and not merely a lack of will power.

Weight Watchers 360° acknowledges and addresses the diverse factors that derail many individuals: a combination of our genetic predisposition to overeat, the challenges of multiple temptations, and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. These myriad factors were all identified in Weight Watcher’s recent Plate of our Nation study, which uncovered alarming insights into New Zealand attitudes, beliefs and values in relation to the obesity crisis.

With the latest Ministry of Health figures revealing that 64.8% of New Zealanders are now overweight or obese[2], it appears popular health-based initiatives are not impacting the nation’s growing obesity crisis, indicating that a new approach to weight management is a timely addition to this competitive and complex space.

“Weight Watchers 360° is a bold approach that takes the latest emerging science on hedonic hunger and explores how incremental changes can help us make the healthy choice the automatic choice. It’s human nature to want to eat delicious; high in fat and sugar foods and so relying on willpower alone is not enough. Rather than making us victims of a world overloaded with tempting food, we need to learn how to clean up the places where we live and work, plan for the situations where we have little control, and establish routines that help support lasting weight-loss,” said Weight Watchers Chief Scientific Officer, Karen Miller-Kovach.

Weight Watchers Australasia Managing Director, Joseph Saad believes Weight Watchers is a pioneer in the wellness industry: “The impact obesity has on our health, life-expectancy and quality of life is substantial. As the leader in weight management it is our duty to take the latest innovations in health, apply them to our program and help lead members to a healthier future.”

Research shows that with Weight Watchers meetings and eTools, people can lose five times more weight than those who try to lose weight on their own[3]. Revolutionising the already successful program, Weight Watchers 360° will make Tracking behaviour even easier, offering consumers additional tools to manage their Spaces (environments and situations) and develop specific Routines. These three complimentary focus areas build on each other, empowering consumers to develop new healthy habits that stick.

“No one is perfect and you shouldn’t have to be to lose weight eating real food in the real world,” said Saad. “Weight Watchers 360° is designed to help our members systematically, yet simply, find a healthy lifestyle to lose the weight and learn to keep it off. It is built to recognise our vulnerabilities and to harness our strength.”

A Fresh Approach

The new Weight Watchers 360° program includes:

· Building on Tracking: In addition to tracking ProPoints values, members and subscribers following the Weight Watchers 360° program will receive specific learning, guidance and tools about re-vamping your Spaces (home, office, car, handbag, etc.), planning for situations (parties, happy hour, eating out, travel, etc.), and incorporating simple Routines into every day until they become second nature.

· With You Whenever, Wherever, However You Need It: The Weight Watchers 360° approach will:

o Make Weight Watchers meetings more active, engaging and interactive so you attend more meetings and get the most out of each one

o Make Weight Watchers digital tools for eTools subscribers more robust, interactive and seamlessly integrated into the program

o Make individual attention – at Weight Watchers stores and by phone – more available for those who need or want extra guidance and support

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