In short the article says:
In a study published today in the British medical journal The Lancet, people following the Weight Watchers regimen for 12 months lost twice as much weight as those who followed the weight-loss guidance of their primary-care physicians.
Sound good--right??? I've never done Weight Watchers but I have a lot of friends and relatives who have, and it always seemed to be a sensible way to lose weight.
But a little ways down in the article I read this:
The study was funded by Weight Watchers through a grant to the U.K. Medical Research Council.
Get that? Weight Watchers funded the freaking study which showed, of course, that you'd lose more weight on Weight Watchers.
Now, I actually do think that if you want to go with a "program" to lose weight, Weight Watchers is the only one that will actually work in the long run. They're not trying to sell you any pre-packaged foods, or miracle extreme short-term weight loss. When you sign up for Weight Watchers you get a sensible program which teaches you how to eat for the rest of your life (and group support).
So, for the life of me I do not understand why they have to participate in this guy of junk science, and, yes, when a company funds research that puts their company in a good light, it's nothing but JUNK.
Weight Watchers, I expected more from you.
It does look suspicious but a study could still have been done in an honest manner. Aren't you assuming there were deliberate efforts to make WW look good? Perhaps you could find the hypothesis, the number of people who were followed and their results, and what determined what was reported. It just could be an honest study done in an honest manner.
ReplyDeleteAtkins and Jenny Craig have done similar things. The CEO of Weight Watchers spoke about the survey and gave good reasons. I think it came from a good place. Of course I could be biased as I like the plan
ReplyDeleteWeight Watchers can really help you lose weight. Thanks for the great info. Great blog :)
ReplyDeleteLOL. So funny that WW funded the study.
ReplyDeleteinteresting. i want to like ww, but i hate it. i hate those boring meetings, but i do believe it works. i have to want it, but when i do, it works.
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