Weight Watchers: My Thoughts Part 1
Weight Watchers has been around since the 1960s. It was founded by an overweight housewife who encouraged sensible eating, exercise and meetings for accountability. Sensible eating is great if one understands how to eat sensible. Exercise is wonderful provided you are actually putting forth effort in a worthwhile endeavor. And support from others can be helpful provided they are actually; 1) supportive and 2) providing accurate information with which to support you. So far so good right? I guess, but the positives end there for me.
The name Weight Watchers is a problem. It implies that watching your weight is what is paramount. However, anyone who truly cares about health and wellness understands that there are many other means to assess progress. You cannot simply watch the scale and determine if you are making progress. In fact it would be unhealthy to be fixated only on seeing a number on the scale decrease. If that becomes your goal, you will inevitably sacrifice muscle in your attempt for a lower body weight. Losing muscle is not what you want on your journey to a lower body fat and healthier version of you. So please let us dispel the myth that weight loss automatically equals healthy. It does not.
Am I saying that an obese person should not lose weight? Of course I am not saying that. What I am saying is that the focus should be holistic. The definition of holistic is; characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the physical symptoms of a disease. Worrying about a number on the scale is not taking into account the whole person. How are they feeling? Mood? Energy levels? How do their clothes fit? What do they think when they see themselves in the mirror? How is their relationship with food? Are they enjoying their workouts? Is this a quick fix or are they making meaningful lifestyle changes? If you are not attempting to address at least some of these other questions, then the client on a Weight Watchers style program will inevitably regain the weight they lose. You are only addressing the symptom of being overweight and not addressing the cause of the weight gain in the first place.
In fact, the data certainly seems to indicate that Weight Watchers clients have a very high likelihood of regaining the weight.
The percentage of Weight Watchers lifetime members who maintained at least 5 % of their weight loss 1, 2 and 5 years after successful completion of the program was 79.8, 71.0, and 50.0, respectively. The percentage of participants who remained below their goal weight 1, 2 and 5 years after completion of the program was 26.5, 20.5, and 16.2, respectively. [1 and 2]
Reread that if you need to. After 5 years, only half of members maintained 5% of their weight loss. Let’s do some math. Let’s imagine a group of women who weigh 150 pounds and lose 20 pounds on Weight Watchers. After 5 years, half of the group is maintaining at least a one pound loss (5% of 20 pounds). Only 16.2% of our group is below 130. 33.8% weigh between 130 and 149. Meaning they regained some or most of what they lost. The other 50% is 149 or above. Meaning they are the same as when they started or worse off!
One more time, only 16.2% are below their goal weight. 84% are failing to make life style changes. Is Weight Watchers more effective than “do it yourself” diets? Most likely. However, I believe there are better options available.
Weight Watchers currently offers online and in person services, ways to track your progress, plan meals, and activity trackers. Much like the initial idea behind Weight Watchers (sensible eating, exercise, & support), these offerings can be useful. However, if the philosophical foundation of the program is askew? Does it matter what layers of technology and support they build on top of it if you are drowning in a sea of faulty ideas?
Weight Watchers implemented a points system in the 1990s, where foods were given a numerical value based on nutritional profile. Depending on weight loss goals and stats—including weight, height, age, and gender—dieters are allotted a certain number of points per day and “spend” them on whatever foods they choose.
There are several issues I have with this. The point system does not encourage one to seek out more information. A Weight Watchers client may simply focus on staying within their allotted points and never learn about the macronutrient profile and other nutritional content of the food they eat. They will not be thinking about protein and fiber, about satiety or a balanced diet.
Could this be why so many end up regaining the weight they lost? Seems likely. Also, foods are not simply the sum of their parts. For example, combining certain foods will help you lower the blood sugar response to your meal and help you feel fuller longer (satiety). Thinking of foods as points keeps you focused only on the end total and not on the interaction of foods throughout your day. Also, an important aspect of nutrition is timing. Would you eat all of your carbohydrates of the day at 7:00am if you knew you were going to a desk job and not doing anything strenuous until your 8:00pm workout? An extreme example to be sure, but thinking of food as points doesn’t help you properly time your food intake based on the demands of your day.
Am I being too hard on the point system? I think not. As I read reviews by people who actually used Weight Watchers, a common occurrence was the client who said something along these lines: “I didn’t learn how to maintain my loss and just went back to eating whatever and I gained it all back.”
Much of my feedback/criticism has up until this point been bigger picture regarding Weight Watchers general structure and philosophy. In part two, I will narrow down the perspective a bit.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18042306
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23463006
