Always good for a giggle, aren't they: "Vicky lost four stone and is bursting with energy!"; "Neil shed 12 stone – he's really kicked his old eating habits into touch!". All those bulging, barely believable "before" snaps; those beaming, burnished, bursting-with-pride new selves.
And, it seems, it works: according to a new study by the Medical Research Council, Weight Watchers is not only a very effective way to lose weight (and keep it lost), it could be the best way for the NHS to beat Britain's burgeoning obesity problem. It could, in fact, be our next national saviour.
Last year, 1.3m members attended some 50,000 weekly Weight Watchers meetings in more than 30 countries (at £5.50 a pop in the UK; less with a monthly pass or on the NHS), generating – along with sales of proprietary cookbooks, eating plans, magazines and branded food products – global sales of a far from slender $4bn (£2.6m).
The organisation's success, experts agree, lies in its founder Jean Nidetch's realisation that losing weight is easier if you're not doing it alone. It was in 1961 that Nidetch, a 15-stone New York housewife, finally shed 20 pounds following some sensible advice from the city health board. But she soon found her resolve wavering. Determined to stay on track, she got a few overweight friends round to her apartment one day and confessed to an addiction to cookies. The friends sympathised, and shared their own calorific woes. Everyone had a good time, and agreed to meet again the next week. After a month or two, they'd all lost weight. Weight Watchers was born.
Today's programme emphasises changing behaviour, rather than just diet. Every food has a points value, calculated according to its calories and saturated fat (a toasted crumpet = 1 point, as does 175g of mixed berries. A slice of gateau will blow 10 points). Members try to meet their daily points allowance, learning along the way (I quote) "to select the best food options to help them eat well, feel full and stay satisfied, while still losing weight".
The branded food products (which range from bacon to ready meals and cheese to chilled desserts) are still very much processed, but are probably no worse for you than many alternatives. It's Nidetch's weekly meetings that are the key. And no, these days there are no humiliating public weigh-ins.
