Nutrisystem#Efficacy and Criticism
{{Short description|American weight loss product and service company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Nutrisystem, Inc.
| logo = Nutrisystem logo.svg
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| type = Subsidiary
| traded_as = {{NASDAQ was|NTRI}}
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| foundation = 1972
| founder = Harold Katz
| defunct =
| location_city = Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
| location_country = US
| locations =
| area_served = US and Canada
| key_people = Stephen Molak, President
| products = Weight loss, weight management, nutrition
| production =
| services = Telephone, Internet and mobile counseling for weight control
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| parent = Kainos Capital
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| homepage = {{URL|https://nutrisystem.com}}
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}}
Nutrisystem is a commercial provider of weight loss products and services headquartered in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.
Company history
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.{{cite book |title=Gale Encyclopedia of Diets |entry=Nutrisystem |volume=2 |pages=722–726 |editor=Longe JL |year=2008 |publisher=Gale Group}}
The company originally offered weight loss counseling and products in brick and mortar centers, but in 1999, Nutrisystem moved to a direct-to-consumer business model, selling its products and programs on the Internet and by telephone.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1096376/000119312506053852/d10k.htm|title=United States Securities and Exchange Commission Annual Report Form 10-K}}
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.{{cite news | last =Brandy | first =Shaul | title =Nutrisystem Launches Weight Loss Platform on IOS | newspaper =AdWeek SocialTimes | date =24 April 2015 | url =http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/nutrisystem-launches-numi-weight-loss-platform-on-ios/548207 | access-date =18 May 2015 }}{{cite news|last=Fair |first=Matt |title=Nutrisystem Accused of Stealing Rival's Diet Mobile App Technology |newspaper=Law360 |date=1 July 2014 |url=http://www.law360.com/articles/553644/nutrisystem-accused-of-stealing-rival-s-diet-mobile-app |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 May 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522013910/http://www.law360.com/articles/553644/nutrisystem-accused-of-stealing-rival-s-diet-mobile-app |archive-date=22 May 2015 }}{{cite web
| title = Webdiet Inc v. Nutrisystem Inc
| url = https://www.plainsite.org/dockets/2vg5qz3tw/superior-court-of-california-county-of-los-angeles/webdiet-inc-v-nutrisystem-inc/
| access-date = 20 November 2020
}}
In 2015, the firm acquired the South Beach Diet brand.{{Cite web |last=Hilario |first=Kenneth |date=18 December 2015 |title=Nutrisystem acquires diet brand for $15M |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/morning_roundup/2015/12/nutrisystem-acquires-south-beach-diet-brand-15m.html |access-date=2019-11-27 |website=Business Journals}}
In December 2018, Tivity Health announced that it would acquire the Nutrisystem brand.{{Cite news |last=Hammond |first=Ed |date=10 December 2018 |title=Tivity Health Plunges With $1.3 Billion Nutrisystem Deal |publisher=Bloomberg News |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-10/tivity-health-agrees-to-buy-nutrisystem-in-1-3-billion-deal |access-date=2019-11-27}}
On October 19, 2020, Kainos Capital acquired the brand from Tivity Health.{{Cite web|date=October 19, 2020|title=Tivity Health Announces Sale of Nutrition Business|url=https://investors.tivityhealth.com/news-and-events/press-release-details/2020/Tivity-Health-Announces-Sale-of-Nutrition-Business/default.aspx}}
In 2021, Stephen Mikulak was named President of Nutrisystem.{{Cite web|url=https://www.privateequitywire.co.uk/2021/02/22/296204/pe-backed-nutrisystem-names-new-president|title=PE-backed Nutrisystem names new President|date=22 February 2021 |website=www.privateequitywire.co.uk/|access-date=2021-08-16}}
The company is known for its celebrity marketing, which has included Marie Osmond in national advertising.{{cite web | url=https://www.shefinds.com/collections/marie-osmond-50-lb-weight-loss-nutrisystem/ | title=Marie Osmond Shows off 50-lb Weight Loss and Tells Fans: 'Food is Not My Enemy Anymore' | date=26 January 2023 }} One of its primary competitors is Weight Watchers with the rivalry deemed "diet wars" by the media. {{cite web | url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/02/28/investing/weight-watchers-earnings-oprah-nutrisystem/index.html | title=Weight Watchers (And Oprah) are winning the diet war | date=28 February 2018 }}
Efficacy and criticism
A systematic review 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.{{cite journal |vauthors=Gudzune KA, Doshi RS, Mehta AK, Chaudhry ZW, Jacobs DK, Vakil RM, Lee CJ, Bleich SN, Clark JM |title=Efficacy of commercial weight-loss programs: an updated systematic review |journal=Ann Intern Med |volume=162 |issue=7 |pages=501–12 |date=April 2015 |pmid=25844997 |pmc=4446719 |doi=10.7326/M14-2238 |quote=Nutrisystem demonstrates better short-term weight loss than control/education and behavioral counseling; however, we identified no long-term trial results. We conclude that Nutrisystem shows promise, but the lack of long-term RCTs prohibits definitive conclusions.}}
{{asof|2019}}, four weeks of a basic Nutrisystem plan costs the average American customer $274.99.{{cite book |title=Facing Overweight and Obesity: A Complete Guide for Children and Adults |vauthors=Stanford FC |veditors=Stevens JR, Stern TA |chapter=Chapter 10: Weight-loss programs |date=6 November 2018 |pages=127–128 |publisher=MGH Psychiatry Academy |isbn=978-0-9991483-5-8}} In light of this expense, the Mayo Clinic lists one of the disadvantages of the diet to be its potentially "prohibitive" cost.{{cite web |date=6 June 2020 |publisher=Mayo Clinic |title=Weight loss: Choosing a diet that's right for you |url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20048466}} Obesity specialist Fatima Cody Stanford 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.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official|https://nutrisystem.com}}
{{Finance links historical
| name = Nutrisystem
| sec_cik = 0001096376
}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1972 establishments in Pennsylvania
Category:2019 mergers and acquisitions
Category:American companies established in 1972
Category:American corporate subsidiaries
Category:Brand name diet products
Category:Companies based in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Category:Food and drink companies established in 1972
Category:Food and drink companies of the United States
Category:Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq