Weight Watchers Works: Study

Jennifer Hudson had her share of skeptics when she shed 80 pounds and came out as the spokesperson for Weight Watchers. But a new study on the efficacy of the popular weight-loss program may give her claim some cred.

A new, one-year global study published in The Lancet indicates that overweight and obese adults referred to Weight Watchers lost more than twice as much weight when compared with those who received standard care.

For the study, 772 overweight English, German and Australian patients were assigned to attend either weekly Weight Watchers meetings or receive standard weight-loss care from a primary care doctor. Twelve months later, patients assigned to Weight Watchers lost on average 15 pounds, compared to seven pounds in the standard care group.

"The significantly greater weight loss among Weight Watchers participants was accompanied by significantly greater reductions in waist size and fat mass; lessening the risk of Type 2 diabetes," the researchers said in a news release.

The study comes close on the heels of an update to the ongoing Black Women's Health Study, which has shown that the risk of death among African-American women goes up incrementally with increasing body mass index over 25. That research, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, backs up what researchers have found in other populations and refutes previous data that suggested that the risk of weight-related death in African Americans increases only at very high BMI levels, such as 35 and up.

A big waist, over 35 inches, also boosts risk, according to study author Julie R. Palmer, ScD, professor of epidemiology at Boston University. "Regardless of BMI, having a large waist size, which is an indicator of carrying around excess abdominal fat, is related to having an increased risk of death," she told WebMD.

Maintaining a healthy weight means keeping your BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. Calculate yours here.

Comments

[carmenalex]

10:44 PM on 09/17/2011

I just joined WW, and so far after one week I lost 4 pounds. So far it's the easiest program i've done that seems to work and I'm not left hungry at all! They have this points plus program that is different from what WW used to be, with an extra 49 points a week. I eat a heck of a lot more fruits and veggies that I used to, but I don't shy away from a beer now and then and I don't shoot myself if I eat a cookie now and again. I already feel a bit more energetic. Can someone please tell me how the yoyo comes in, because thats not what i've seen in my group. One of the ladies in my group has lost 115 pounds years ago and she has managed to keep it off.

[beabetterwoman]

12:50 PM on 09/09/2011

Any study that is funded by itself is not good science--it's advertising! If Weight Watchers wants to seriously look at how effective their program is, they need to have a group of independent researchers do a long-term (at least 5 years) study on their program. But WW won't allow those type of studies to be performed.... Why do you think that is???

[BeautifulMagUK]

11:53 AM on 09/11/2011

Very well said and something that will be overlooked entirely as this story spreads throughout the media -ST

[Dr Deah Schwartz]

11:57 AM on 09/09/2011

There are so many flaws with this study; it's hard to know where to begin. Let's start with looking at where the funding for the study came from? Then let's look at the duration of the study compared to the body of knowledge that already exists about the efficacy of dieting and success rate for maintaining weight loss over a long period of time. And then there are the deleterious effects of yo yo dieting that WW often creates by setting goals that are number based and not health based. Really, this study is just a paid advertisement by WW and for WW. Warmly, Dr. Deah Schwartz, leftoverstogo.com

[RDstudent]

01:08 AM on 09/09/2011

A one year study does not equal successful long-term weight loss. But WW aren't fools; they know if they sponsored a five year study, most likely their failure rate would be the same as every other intentional weight loss effort: 95% failure. That means 95% of people who engage in any kind of intentional weight loss gain most or all (or even more) of the weight back within 5 years. Many within 2 years.

I did WW for many years and aside from the yo-yo weight cycling, I was left with extreme disordered eating - constant fear of food, episodes of overeating and then painful periods of being "good" (read: being really hungry, even with eating all my required Points). I now live Health at Every Size (HAES), engage in very healthy eating behaviors and exercise vigorously and often (because these feel good). I eat intuitively, never binge and don't go hungry for extended periods of time. My weight has stabilized, but I will never be thin. 16 years of yo-yoing on WW has taught me that. My health indicators (cholesterol, BP, blood sugar) are all wonderful.

Imagine if people of all sizes decided to engage in healthy behaviors, not to try for the near-impossible goal of permanently changing their sizes, but because it felt great and it made them healthy. But then, how would the diet industry make $60 billion a year?

[carmenalex]

10:36 PM on 09/17/2011

When did you join? I just did and I'm already losing weight. They have this point plus program that's pretty new, and i'm certainly not feeling hungry at all. There's this woman in my group who shed 115 pounds...three years ago...she has not put on the pounds again and she's just maintaining. If you do the program right you don't yoyo.

[RDstudent]

04:29 PM on 11/02/2011

Carmenalex, I have to disagree with your statement "If you do the program right you don't yoyo." Perhaps if *you* do the program right, this will be the case (and you will join an elite group of 5% of people that maintain weight loss longer than 5 years). Most studies show that any intentional weight loss program does not produce long term (longer than 5 years) results - 95% of people gain back the weight and sometimes more. Ask WW what their 5 year success rate is for maintenance of full weight loss - they will not be able to tell you. Most people DO lose weight on any of these diets - it is the long term maintenance that is not produced. In my case, my long term association with WW (15 years) produced extreme food preoccupation, body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. I wish I could undo all of that and the damage I've done to my body but I can't. Also know that if you lose weight on WW, gain it back, go back to WW to lose the weight again, they count you as two successes. Funny how they don't count the failure as theirs. Best of luck to you though.

[carmenalex]

10:45 PM on 09/17/2011

And in the new program you can opt out of using points, were its more intuitive, were you learn to listen to your body.