Nutrisystem is a commercial provider of weight loss products and services headquartered in
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Fort Washington is a census-designated place and suburb of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,446 at the 2010 census.
History
Prior to the Revolutionary War
the Fort Washington area was settle ...
. Nutrisystem's initial product in 1972 was a
liquid protein diet, but the company changed its offering after
Slim-Fast came to prominence in that market.
The company originally offered weight loss counseling and products in
brick and mortar
Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...
centers, but in 1999, Nutrisystem moved to a
direct-to-consumer
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) or business-to-consumer (B2C) is the business model of selling products directly to customers and thereby bypassing any third-party retailers, wholesalers, or any other middlemen. Direct-to-consumer sales are usually tr ...
business model, selling its products and programs on the Internet and by telephone.
The company launched its mobile platform in 2010. WebDiet, Inc., a Silicon Valley startup, accused Nutrisystem of stealing their technology, but the case was dismissed in May, 2014.
In 2021, Stephen Mikulak was named President of Nutrisystem.
In 2015, the firm acquired the
South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet is a popular fad diet developed by Arthur Agatston and promoted in a best-selling 2003 book.Sandra Bastin for University of Kentucky Extension Service. August 1998; revised March 2004University of Kentucky Extension Service: F ...
brand. In December 2018,
Tivity Health
Tivity Health, formerly Healthways, is a provider of health improvement, fitness and social engagement solutions. Tivity Health is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee and has campuses in Franklin, Tennessee and Chandler, Arizona. The company wa ...
announced that it would acquire the Nutrisystem brand.
On October 19, 2020, Kainos Capital acquired the brand from Tivity Health.
Efficacy and criticism
A
systematic review
A systematic review is a Literature review, scholarly synthesis of the evidence on a clearly presented topic using critical methods to identify, define and assess research on the topic. A systematic review extracts and interprets data from publ ...
in 2015 concluded that Nutrisystem "shows promise" because, in the short term, studies have shown that Nutrisystem was more effective at weight-loss than a control group, but found no studies of long-term efficacy.
, four weeks of a basic Nutrisystem plan costs the average American customer $274.99.
In light of this expense, the
Mayo Clinic
The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...
lists one of the disadvantages of the diet to be its potentially "prohibitive" cost.
Obesity specialist
Fatima Cody Stanford
Fatima Cody Stanford is an American obesity medicine physician, internist, and pediatrician and an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She is one of the most highly cited scientists in the field of obesity. ...
writes that a potential disadvantage of the diet is that it complicates social eating because a person following the Nutrisystem plan has to follow a distinct dietary program.
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References
External links
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{{authority control
1972 establishments in Pennsylvania
2019 mergers and acquisitions
American companies established in 1972
American corporate subsidiaries
Brand name diet products
Companies based in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Food and drink companies established in 1972
Food and drink companies of the United States
Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq
Upper Dublin Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Weight loss companies