From a celebrity success to another fad diet: How did Weight Watchers fall into bankruptcy?By Tessa Flemming and Daniela PizziraniTopic:Diet and Nutrition53m ago53 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 9:39amLoading YouTube contentabc.net.au/news/weight-watchers-bankruptcy-explained/105267214Link copiedShareShare articleIt was an emphatic and often-memed commercial.Queen of the daytime talk show, Oprah Winfrey can't hide her excitement."I love bread!" she says, hands gesticulating in the air."I lost 26 pounds and I have eaten bread every single day."She was, of course, advertising weight loss program Weight Watchers, now known as WW.Oprah Winfrey was one of the most famous faces of Weight Watchers. (Supplied: Weight Watchers )If you or someone you know needs help:Butterfly National Helpline — 1800 33 4673Eating Disorders Families Australia — 1300 195 626Eating Disorders Victoria — 1300 550 236Eating Disorders Qld — 07 3844 6055Professionals Credentialed in Eating DisordersLifeline on 13 11 14Suicide Call Back Service — 1300 659 467Kids Helpline — 1800 55 1800MensLine — 1300 78 99 78In 2015, Winfrey became the public face of the program, but only nine years later the relationship would sour.Winfrey announced she was stepping down from the board last year "to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight-loss medications".Perhaps it was a sign of things to come.On Tuesday, local time, the US company announced it was filing for bankruptcy, citing a "rapidly changing weight management landscape".So, from a celebrity-spruiked success to a relic of diet culture — how did we get here?A 60s housewife with a new 'way of life'It was Brooklyn housewife Jean Nidetch who first envisaged the company which would become a global juggernaut.After years of binge-eating and fad diets, Nidetch came up with a system in which she periodically met with a group of her friends who were also interested in losing weight, and together they charted their progress and offered encouragement.Her first official meeting in 1963 attracted more than 400 women.Just five years later, WW had amassed 1 million members worldwide.Jean Nidetch spruiked a diet where a community of women helped support each other's weight-loss journey. (Weight Watchers Facebook page)Even in the beginning, Nidetch was quick to differentiate it from other diets."The word 'diet' is one we refrain from using at WW because one usually goes on a diet to lose weight, and then ultimately goes off the diet," she said in 1968."We refer, instead, to a 'program' of re-educating one's eating habits, which then becomes a way of life."Australia was among the first international bases, opening in Sydney in 1969.The phenomenon would eventually grow to more than 400 locations in every state and territory.A fridge full of Weight Watchers-branded products. (Getty Images: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg )Nidetch would continue to cash in — from cookbooks, frozen meals and even scales — and Weight Watchers not only became a diet but a bankable brand.In 1978, she sold the brand to HJ Heinz Co (the sauce brand) for a whopping $US71 million ($541 million today, with adjusted inflation).Celebrity spruiks and a new-found communityAn undeniable part of WW was its celebrity influence.Excluding Winfrey, the brand was known for recruiting celebrities to divulge their before-and-afters to the public, including Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Hudson and even Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson.Sarah Ferguson was one of the brand's more unlikely spokeswoman, saying she had lost about 40 kilograms thanks to the diet. (Reuters )Simpson, who was brutally ridiculed for her weight after the birth of her daughter in 2012, said she felt "pressured" to lose weight as she spruiked the program."My body, like my life, is a work in progress, but I'm getting there with Weight Watchers," Simpson says in one commercial, between long shots of herself smiling on the beach.Jennifer Hudson at the opening of The Weight Watchers Jennifer Hudson Center in 2011. (AP: Photo/M. Spencer Green)But it wasn't just celebs.Every day people found a community in the weekly weigh-ins, and were able to stay motivated by a group of judgement-free peers.But while the program was praised for its flexibility and social aspects, it was also criticised by dieticians for not being run by medical professional but instead "coaches".In 2018, the brand also garnered controversy for offering free memberships for teenagers aged 13 to 17.Fitness influencer guides under the microscopePhoto shows Three guides side by sideAustralian influencers and their fitness and nutrition guides were all the rage in the mid-to-late 2010s. We asked experts if their advice holds up today.It later responded acknowledging teen years are a "critical life stage" and that it was not providing a diet but "healthy habits for life".At times, it also struggled to differentiate itself in a market full of diet alternatives such as similarly celebrity-endorsed rival Jenny Craig.A new wave of wellnessAs the years went on, the world of nutrition changed rapidly, and in 2023, Jenny Craig filed for bankruptcy.In an attempt to shift towards wellness, Weight Watchers abandoned its iconic name to not mention weight, rebranding to WW in 2018.Adding the tagline "Wellness that Works" amid a cultural move away from diet culture and growing competition from phone apps, social media influencers and online programs.In 2023, struggling to adapt to the changing world, the company introduced its own clinic — which provided telehealth access to weight loss medications such as semaglutide (better known as Ozempic or Wegovy).But despite WW's restructure, a new generation of consumers were leaving WW behind, and turning to TikTok and Instagram for a health information instead.Emily Denniss, a lecturer at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Deakin University who researches the relationship between social media use and dietary patterns, said people have moved away from traditional restrictive diets in what she calls a "rebranding of diet culture"."Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers have failed because they haven't changed how they are talking about weight-loss," Dr Denniss said."There is still a focus on weight loss online but people understand the harms of before and after images and calorie counting programs, and can hold companies accountable, users have a voice."How to choose the best online exercise program for youPhoto shows A man holding a phone with data on the screen, two people are boxing in the background.There are many online fitness programs, but looking past marketing terminology to find a program that best suits your health and fitness goals can be challenging.'A global obsession'Nicholas Fuller, an associate professor at the University of Sydney's Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, who researches at The Boden Initiative — a centre focused on the global obesity epidemic — said people have been following the same approach to weight loss for the past five decades."Weight loss is a global obsession," Dr Fuller said."There are so many programs out there and only three have real-world evidence."This continuous calorie approach doesn't work, and people are fed up of being stuck in this cycle of losing and regaining weight."Fitness apps linked to eating disordersPhoto shows Close-up of a person wearing a smart watchFlinders University researchers say young adults who use diet and fitness apps are more likely to obsess over diet.Natalie Spicer, the Butterfly Foundation's head of clinical and support services, said diet culture has not disappeared, but evolved."The demise of weight loss organisations is sadly not an indicator of a move away from the diet culture we live in, but more a move towards quick fix solutions like injectable weight loss medications," Ms Spicer said."Many of the same harmful ideals are now repackaged under the guise of 'wellness', 'clean eating', and 'health optimisation'."What happens now?The company says it has about $US1.15 billion in debt, according to its bankruptcy announcement.Parent company WW International Inc said it has the support of nearly three-quarters of its debt holders.It expects to emerge from bankruptcy within 45 days, if not sooner."For more than 62 years, WeightWatchers has empowered millions of members to make informed, healthy choices, staying resilient as trends have come and gone," Weight Watchers CEO Tara Comonte said."As the conversation around weight shifts toward long-term health, our commitment to delivering the most trusted, science-backed, and holistic solutions — grounded in community support and lasting results — has never been stronger, or more important."Posted 53m ago53 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 9:39amShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesSecond minister booted from cabinet as PM prepares reshuffleLIVEPhoto shows Ed Husic wearing a blue suit sitting in an office.More women in Labor than ever but top jobs still going to menBAnalysis by Brett WorthingtonPhoto shows Anika Wells Amanda Rishworth Katie Gallagher Anne AlyJacinta Nampijinpa Price joins Liberal Party as leadership race heats upTopic:Political Parties and MovementsPhoto shows A close up shot of a woman wearing a white blazer and black and white shirt.Conclave's second day begins with more black smoke as voting continuesTopic:Religious LeadersPhoto shows Black smoke spewing from a chimney.Cabinet ministers Mark Dreyfus, Ed Husic scrapped from new Albanese ministryTopic:Political LeadershipPhoto shows a composite image of two men wearing suitsRelated storiesWhat is intuitive eating? 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Her exit foreshadowed the brand's bankruptcyTopic:Explainer53m ago53 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 9:39amMore Just InBack to top