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Obesity is now it’s a disease, according to the American Medical Association, considered the voice of America’s doctors. Some local doctors and who work with the obese are applauding the action, and predicting it will lead to better insurance coverage for weight loss counseling, drugs and surgery, while others worry it might cause people to […]

In order to meet growing consumer demand for its Nutrisystem(R) D(R) 5-Day Jumpstart Weight Loss Kit, the company has ramped up production and will offer its product in 3,700 Walmart stores by the end of June. Nutrisystem is a national strategic partner of the American Diabetes Association and the Nutrisystem(R) D(R) plan meets the nutritional

Jenny Craig announced that it is closing 101 of its retail stores in North America, and that it will be devoting more attention to its online services (Jenny At Home), “as part of a long-term strategic plan”. Closures will be completed by June 28th, and are centers that affect the least possible number of clients

Arena Pharmaceuticals says its prescription weight loss drug Belviq will be available to U.S. patients beginning next week, nearly a year after the drug was officially approved by federal regulators. The FDA approved Belviq last June for adults who are obese or who are overweight and have at least one serious medical condition, such as

Nestle, the owner of Jenny Craig since 2006, and which has seen sales stagnate in the US recently, entered the market in the United Kingdom in 2010 to take on dieting heavyweight Weight Watchers. The brand, whose ambassadors include Spice Girl Mel B, is closing from next month because sales have failed to meet expectations. Weight

Qsymia sales for the first quarter were weighed down by continued reluctance of insurers to reimburse obesity treatments and the drug’s retail unavailability. Net product revenue, reflecting sales of Qsymia, doubled to $4.1 million from $2 million in the preceding quarter, but missed analysts’ estimate of $5.2 million. Despite the rising sales of the pill,

According to management: “Our ongoing efforts to execute on our strategic goals enabled us to generate results ahead of our expectations with first quarter earnings per share 48% higher than the prior year period,” commented Michael C. MacDonald, Medifast’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “For the remainder of 2013, we remain optimistic that our profitable

According to Dr. Michael Dansinger, a nutrition expert at Tufts Medical Center, said having less freedom in choosing meals seems to help people meet their dieting goals. In a head-to-head comparison with a traditional diet, people who stuck to a diet of portion-controlled packaged foods lost almost twice as much weight as those who only

Following are financial highlights for the quarter ended March 31, 2013: Global engagement as measured by paid weeks up 1.4% versus the prior year period Internet revenues of $140.8 million, up 10.9% versus the prior year period, with Online paid weeks up 10.3% and end of period active Online subscribers up 6.2% versus the prior

On April 16, the FDA approved a modification of VIVUS’ Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), to allow sales of the Rx obesity drug Qsymia in retail pharmacies. REMS are established by the FDA when drugs are potentially harmful. Initially, the FDA told VIVUS that it would only be able to sell Qsymia at mail