News

NutriSystem today announced that Dawn M. Zier will join the company as president and CEO. She will also serve on the Nutrisystem board of directors. She replaces Joe Redling, who is stepping down as president and CEO and resigning from the company’s board of directors. Ms. Zier is a 20-year veteran of Reader’s Digest Association, […]

opened 30 franchise centers nationwide. By 2010, Itrim was represented by franchisees in Sweden’s largest towns and cities. In order to reach and help a larger proportion of the population, It was then decided to also offer the Itrim program to successful fitness facilities in the country’s smaller towns through licensing. At present they have

Marketdata Enterprises just released a groundbreaking new study entitled: “The Market For Retail Health Clinics & Urgent Care Centers, Sept. 2012, 132 pp. 17 company profiles, 25 Tables. Price: $1,495. See the Press Release with some major findings and the Table of Contents here These 1,400 or so clinics are popping up more often in

Medifast has agreed to pay $3.7 to settle charges that its ads for meal replacement products made unsupported claims in 2009 about users’ success in losing weight. The FTC claims the firm made unsupported claims in radio, TV, Internet and print ads, that consumers could lose 2-5 lbs each week. Medifast said that the FTC

If you are officially obese – with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. Use an online BMI calculator or ask your doctor for your BMI number. Medicare will pay for one counseling session a week for the first month, and five more monthly sessions. If you’ve lost 6.6 pounds by the end

According to a Forbes magazine article, Raymond Debbane is the man behind Weight Watchers Intl. which is the private equity deal of the century. This money-making relationship has been going on since 1999, largely unnoticed. Mr. Debbane runs Invus Group, an investment firm headquartered in NYC that manages money for a few wealthy European families.

I rarely offer opinions on diet company stocks, but this is an exception. With all due respect, I strongly disagree with Jim Kramer’s recent take on Weight Watchers being a “dangerous” and “foolhardy” stock, along with his sell rating. I also disagree strongly with his latest comments about the company being “mismanaged”. This company does

How many times now have we heard about the next new anti-obesity drug blockbuster, that never met expectations? The next multi-billion dollar/year magic pill? Qnexa by Vivus is the latest to get a nod from an FDA review panel. Soon we’ll be hearing the Wall Street analysts proclaim Qnexa’s virtues, the growing global obesity problem

The top diet programs, according to the magazine, are: Weight Watchers, the DASH Diet, and The Biggest Loser. The list by the high profile news magazine started last year, with Weight Watchers taking the top spot. The US News and World Report Best Diets 2012 also breaks the diets down in to multiple categories, naming

In my consulting travels, I come across some very interesting start-ups, entrepreneurs and ventures that launch new diet companies and products or services designed to augment the programs of existing companies. One such venture is the Weight Zone Factor, by a California mathematician and entrepreneur with a team of people under the name Virtual Wellness,