The basic concept of the Weight Watchers plan consisted of two components. First, there was the Weight Watchers program, and second, there was the group support. The program was essentially a food plan and an activity plan. The food plan was intended to provide people with the educational tools they needed for weight loss as well as to provide control mechanisms so that individuals could find their way to healthier food choices. The company radically simplified the food selection process involved in dieting by assigning each food a corresponding point value, which eliminated the need to tally calories.9 In the past, Weight Watchers had been recognized more for its food plan, but by 2012 it was getting noticed for its activity and cause marketing plans as well. For instance, Weight Watchers underwrote a policy summit initiated by the Pentagon to address “the growing national security threat posed by a shrinking pool of Americans lean enough to serve in the military.”