Jean Nidetch is the founder and entrepreneur of Weight Watchers. She is the woman who started the whole business in 1963. She operates in about 30 countries around the world, generally under names that are local translations of “Weight Watchers.”

Jean Nidetch was a New York woman who suffered from being fat. She described herself as an "overweight housewife obsessed with eating cookies," a 5'7" 38-year-old woman who weighed 214 pounds. Born in 1923, she had been overweight throughout her Brooklyn childhood. She tried diet regimens and pills that promised to take off pounds, but Nidetch always gained back the weight she lost.

Nidetch's frustration led her to try something new in 1961. She decided to combine a sensible diet with group support meetings after she solicited several fat friends to go on a diet and to meet for weekly check-ins. Within two months, 40 women were meeting to talk about their progress and keep each other accountable for what they ate. Nidetch stayed on her program, lost 72 pounds by October 1962, and attracted, by word-of-mouth, hundreds of people who wanted to join the group.

Nidetch made it her mission to motivate others. She incorporated Weight Watchers in 1963, developed rules for members, recruited group leaders, and watched her business thrive. By 1968, Weight Watchers operated franchises nationwide and completed a sold-out initial public offering. Today, Weight Watchers has expanded worldwide, helping millions lose weight and offering meal plans and cookbooks. Nidetch retired as Weight Watchers' spokesperson in 1984.                                                                                   

 

 

•Through the years, Weight Watchers has taken its position as a leader in the weight-control industry very seriously. •In 1990, when the Secretary of Health and Human Services announced health goals for Americans, called Healthy People 2000, Weight Watchers was a major corporate sponsor.  Weight Watchers Health Watch 2000 was later launched by Weight Watchers to help educate Americans that research shows that obesity is an independent risk factor for many major chronic diseases, including cancer, stroke, heart disease and diabetes.  •Today, Weight Watchers continues to support initiatives to give Americans practical advice on how to lead healthier lives, focusing on such areas as weight control, nutrition, and physical fitness.

With this commitment to public health and education, Weight Watchers has shown, once again, that the caring which Jean Nidetch expressed in her Queens home, the caring that has guided the development and growth of Weight Watchers, will continue to help people change their lives for the better into the 21st century and well into the future.

By: Kayla Murray