Originally published January 24 2005
Weight Watchers is found to be the best way to lose weight
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A recent study into dieting methods has shown that the new diets on the block aren't as effective at long-term weight loss as the good, old-fashioned Weight Watchers method of watching calories and exercising daily. With the low-carb craze dwindling, the tried-and-true methods of simply watching what you eat and counting points is still the best way to lose weight and keep it off.
Weight Watchers has seen some lean times, so to speak.
The company's decades-old regimen of daily exercise, point-counting and monthly meetings hasn't been able to compete very well with the all-you-can-eat, low-carb diet craze of the past few years, and profits suffered.
But just in time for New Year's resolutions, the Woodbury-based weight-control company may get a boost from a new study that endorses its low-fad diet.
The study of a selection of weight loss programs, scheduled to be published next week in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found only Weight Watchers had strong documentation that it worked.
The report was scheduled for release early next week but was published early by various news services.
The study, along with rising company profits this year and a general waning in the low-carb craze, could mean more Americans are willing to work for weight loss, experts said.
"I don't know if Weight Watchers will grow dramatically, but it has proven through the years to work," said Bob Goldin, executive vice president of Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based food industry research company.
Weight Watchers is more of a lifestyle program than other weight loss plans, he said, which could come back in style as "common sense is now tending to prevail in dieting."
Instead of relying on the point system it depended on for more than 40 years, the company in August 2003 launched a response to low-carb plans that eliminated point counting, said spokeswoman Jennifer Mitchell.
Fewer consumers following low-carb diets could spell trouble for companies such as Ronkonkoma-based Atkins Nutritionals, experts said.
"Our sales are still up," said Colette Heimowitz, Atkins vice president of education.
"Most health experts have recognized that the low-carb craze is on its way out," said Melinda Johnson, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.
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