College Women Are Heavy Dieters – 91%

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, a whopping 91% of college women attempt to control their weight with some form of dieting. This is well above the average for all adults of 54% (Source: Calorie Control Council). This is no surprise to us, since we’ve known that young women are heavy users of celebrity diets and easily accessible over-the-counter retail diet pills and meal replacements such as shakes and bars. Many female students flock to fad diets and inexpensive do-it-yourself diets such as the Paleo Diet, Special K diet and others, rather than joining costly structured commercial plans such as Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, or even Weight Watchers. Convenience and price are key factors for these college students. The question then becomes, how do weight loss companies reach this group of customers with their offerings? — We would think online would be the best option. Perhaps testing some kiosks or “stores” at student unions at college campuses as well? (Think Starbucks mini-sites now operating on the college campus.)