Weight loss applications are forcing the industry to adopt digital alternatives: NPR

As in many other industries, apps upset the weight loss market, including large companies like Nutrisystem and Weight Watchers. And it's essentially because more consumers are feeling the same as Jessica Holloway-Haytcher.

A few years ago, she tried shakes and dietary supplements. She hated them. She also hired a former NFL player who became a personal trainer, but her schedule never matched hers.

She spent $ 600 a month on programs that were not sustainable. She says she could not keep up with the "astronomical" costs.

Now, Holloway-Haytcher uses an application called Noom. (Noom is an NPR sponsor.) She lost more than 30 pounds by changing her habits. She is now preparing healthy meals in the morning, so she's not voracious at night. she focuses on the conversation to slow down her diet.

The app also allows him to follow his meals, do some exercise and stay in touch with an online coach. She is still working with her and working with her busy schedule as the owner of a recruitment company in Kennewick, Wash State. Sometimes, one even feels that the application knows what she thinks.

"It's a bit funny to see that I'll open the app someday, and that's exactly what I'm talking about, that's what they're talking about," Holloway-Haytcher said. Like when she stopped losing weight and was discouraged. "They talked about the impact it can have on you and how you can work, and then your negative personal discourse," she says.

In terms of weight loss, 80% of people are trying to do it themselves, said John LaRosa, president of Marketdata, which tracks the commercial weight loss industry, valued at $ 4 billion. dollars. (The global market – including dietary and non-alcoholic beverages, health clubs, weight loss surgeries, and dietary pharmaceuticals – is about $ 72 billion.)

According to LaRosa, applications have disadvantages: users often have enough, as well as subscriptions to gyms. But apps are also cheaper than most commercial programs and attract the younger ones, which traditional channels have trouble attracting.

"The average age of a Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem or Weight Watchers client is around 48 years old, and it is probably increasing," says LaRosa. "The market is going to shrink if it's only for baby boomers."

This explains why Nutrisystem, acquired last year by Tivity Health, has revised its digital strategy. Tivity President Dawn Zier said there was more social media advertising and redesign of NuMi.

"The younger generation wants to be on demand first," she says. "[They will say] & # 39; I want food when I want it; I want to talk to a counselor when I have a problem, which can be Saturday night at 10 o'clock. & # 39; "

Weight Watchers also revised its brand last year by changing its name to WW, which means "Wellness that Works".

"Three years ago, Generation Y told us it was my grandmother's brand," said Debra Benovitz, WW First Vice President.

The company, 56, has changed gears. She still defends support groups on her retail sites, a concept that made her popular and Jenny Craig in the 1980s. Having physical stores is still the biggest difference from WW compared to exclusively digital newcomers .

According to Benovitz, WW's own application serves to keep customers in touch between these meetings in person or in place of them.

"Previously, we were even reluctant to show the application in our ads, and that has changed so much," she says. "I think the future will be a really strong technology partner in the field of health and well-being."

This trend may have begun with the younger generation, but has spread beyond it. Favin Gebremariam, 34, of Boston, uses the WW app, just like his mother. They discuss their weight daily and exchange photos with other members.

Interactions occur throughout the day, which helps Gebremariam stay on track, she says.

"You get feedback and congratulations, or you get support," which motivates her to stay motivated to stay on the program, she says. Gebremariam also considers that in-person workshops are essential.

But the application fills the gaps. "We want to follow our food and follow our activity and consult our friends, and this is done over the phone," Gebremariam said.