December 12, 2007
Men on Diets
Weight loss and maintenance companies such as NutriSystem and Weight Watchers are finding that there is a sizeable upside market opportunity in targeting males.
The industry, which traditionally has focused on women, has found that while men have been slow to get on formal diet programs, they now are and in increasing numbers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that about 71 percent of American men are overweight or obese. As a point of comparison, 61 percent of women in the U.S. are said to be overweight.
If the trend continues, by 2040, every American should be overweight,” warns Dr. Allen Rader, a board member with the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, told The Associated Press.
NutriSystem said a new ad campaign in Q1 2007 attracted 363,000 new clients. Of those, 35 percent were male versus 13 percent for the same period in 2006.
“Men are slow to come to the plate of weight loss,” said Karen Miller-Kovach, chief scientific officer at Weight Watchers, “but generally, when they do decide to lose weight, they tend to be more successful than women, not only in terms of the speed but keeping the weight off.
“When it comes to weight loss, women fight battles. Men declare war,” she said.
The plans offered by Weight Watchers and NutriSystem are essentially the same for both men and women.
“Our program resonates with men because it’s something they can do in their own home, eat real ‘guy’ food,” said Mike Hagan, chief executive officer at NutriSystem. “They don’t have to prepare anything, don’t have to shop at the grocery store. It’s idiot-proof.”
Discussion Question: Are men becoming more aware of weight and related health issues? What can retailers do to more effectively tap into the market opportunity?
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What a great topic to focus on! I’ve been watching with interest as the brands mentioned above advertise more relevantly to men and think it’s a wonderful trend. After all, obesity is a widespread issue and weight should not be on women’s shoulders alone. Oprah has done great things with Dr. Oz and creating awareness on connecting weight, lifestyle and living right to overall health, happiness and graceful aging.
Our healthcare industry and our children are affected by how both parents care for themselves and more awareness toward education–and solutions–to get everyone on board in a positive direction is all good.
The problem for NutriSystem, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Zone Diet, etc. isn’t attracting men. It’s attracting men profitably. It can cost between $10 and $50 for any of these plans to acquire a new customer, and each new customer only becomes profitable after several months. Because the dropout rates are high, it isn’t unusual to acquire a customer for $25, only to have them leave before the $25 acquisition cost is fully amortized.
The busiest signup season for weight loss programs starts right after Christmas. A few weeks ago, Weight Watchers told investors that their new ad campaign (starting January) will pull the company into much better sales increases. Let’s see what happens.
I would like to see one major retailer experiment with providing an aisle dedicated completely to low fat foods. At present, most mainstream retailers have “heath food” aisles, however, “health foods” are not always low in fat; in fact some brands are higher in fat than the conventional brands.
Make it simple, or as the article refers to it, “idiot proof,” and give us a full aisle of foods of all types that are low in fat so that those of us trying to watch our weight can run right into the store and head for the “aisle.” This will work so well that soon, other stores will follow.
Assuming the weight-loss industry supports the effort with appropriate marketing — including the right creative, media placement, promotions and merchandising — there’s no limit to the growth it can see in the men’s market.
And since some literature indicates that dieters generally gain back all the weight they lose — plus more–within a year, the supply of repeat customers and maintenance members should be just about as big as it is in the women’s market.
Does anybody remember Meal Solutions? When it comes to men, simple and easy is better. Retailers should think about the meals that are tasty, “manly” and are low fat and perhaps low carb that will help to take the weight off. Have it be something they can simply heat up and eat.
As another commented, develop an entire aisle of meal solutions for weight loss. Perhaps, even Unilever’s Bertolli pastas can be reformulated to be healthier and therefore a no-brainer for men. You pour it into a skillet, heat for 10 minutes and serve. Even a man can do that! The diet programs do this but, as others have noted, have been more traditionally skewed to woman.
If you have been to an airport or on a plane in the last few years, it will be clear to you that this is a huge and necessary need that must be addressed. Obviously, what you eat or don’t eat is not enough. People need to realize that exercise has to be a part of their daily routine. While going down the stairs at my gym yesterday, a rather overweight couple were coming up the stairs saying, “Gee, it’s quite a workout just climbing these stairs?”
Wisdom from my (at the time) 75 year old dad. “By my age many friends have died. Some were healthy, others not. But all of my smoking or overweight friends died.”
He’s 90 now and except for a little diminishment in memory, healthier than many of the 60 somethings at my last high school reunion. He lost about 50 pounds in his late 50s and never put it back. I’ve become a vegan and have now lost 35 pounds with no sign of it returning.
The answer to your question will depend on age. More than half of the men in their 70s on up lost weight; the rest died.
It’s about time! Men may be slower to adopt formal diet programs, but can find the results very satisfying.
Weight Watchers programs are successful because they are based on a lifestyle that promotes health. Consumers eat “real” foods. Their website contains a great deal of practical information on physical activity and health as well as recipes. Offering men (and women) travel tips and recommended foods to eat for lunch or dinner if dining out are also practical.
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What a great topic to focus on! I’ve been watching with interest as the brands mentioned above advertise more relevantly to men and think it’s a wonderful trend. After all, obesity is a widespread issue and weight should not be on women’s shoulders alone. Oprah has done great things with Dr. Oz and creating awareness on connecting weight, lifestyle and living right to overall health, happiness and graceful aging.
Our healthcare industry and our children are affected by how both parents care for themselves and more awareness toward education–and solutions–to get everyone on board in a positive direction is all good.
The problem for NutriSystem, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Zone Diet, etc. isn’t attracting men. It’s attracting men profitably. It can cost between $10 and $50 for any of these plans to acquire a new customer, and each new customer only becomes profitable after several months. Because the dropout rates are high, it isn’t unusual to acquire a customer for $25, only to have them leave before the $25 acquisition cost is fully amortized.
The busiest signup season for weight loss programs starts right after Christmas. A few weeks ago, Weight Watchers told investors that their new ad campaign (starting January) will pull the company into much better sales increases. Let’s see what happens.
I would like to see one major retailer experiment with providing an aisle dedicated completely to low fat foods. At present, most mainstream retailers have “heath food” aisles, however, “health foods” are not always low in fat; in fact some brands are higher in fat than the conventional brands.
Make it simple, or as the article refers to it, “idiot proof,” and give us a full aisle of foods of all types that are low in fat so that those of us trying to watch our weight can run right into the store and head for the “aisle.” This will work so well that soon, other stores will follow.
Assuming the weight-loss industry supports the effort with appropriate marketing — including the right creative, media placement, promotions and merchandising — there’s no limit to the growth it can see in the men’s market.
And since some literature indicates that dieters generally gain back all the weight they lose — plus more–within a year, the supply of repeat customers and maintenance members should be just about as big as it is in the women’s market.
Does anybody remember Meal Solutions? When it comes to men, simple and easy is better. Retailers should think about the meals that are tasty, “manly” and are low fat and perhaps low carb that will help to take the weight off. Have it be something they can simply heat up and eat.
As another commented, develop an entire aisle of meal solutions for weight loss. Perhaps, even Unilever’s Bertolli pastas can be reformulated to be healthier and therefore a no-brainer for men. You pour it into a skillet, heat for 10 minutes and serve. Even a man can do that! The diet programs do this but, as others have noted, have been more traditionally skewed to woman.
If you have been to an airport or on a plane in the last few years, it will be clear to you that this is a huge and necessary need that must be addressed. Obviously, what you eat or don’t eat is not enough. People need to realize that exercise has to be a part of their daily routine. While going down the stairs at my gym yesterday, a rather overweight couple were coming up the stairs saying, “Gee, it’s quite a workout just climbing these stairs?”
Wisdom from my (at the time) 75 year old dad. “By my age many friends have died. Some were healthy, others not. But all of my smoking or overweight friends died.”
He’s 90 now and except for a little diminishment in memory, healthier than many of the 60 somethings at my last high school reunion. He lost about 50 pounds in his late 50s and never put it back. I’ve become a vegan and have now lost 35 pounds with no sign of it returning.
The answer to your question will depend on age. More than half of the men in their 70s on up lost weight; the rest died.
It’s about time! Men may be slower to adopt formal diet programs, but can find the results very satisfying.
Weight Watchers programs are successful because they are based on a lifestyle that promotes health. Consumers eat “real” foods. Their website contains a great deal of practical information on physical activity and health as well as recipes. Offering men (and women) travel tips and recommended foods to eat for lunch or dinner if dining out are also practical.