History and Expansion
Jean Nidetch began Weight Watchers in an unlikely, and unintended, way. The origins of Weight Watchers started when Jean invited six women into her home to help both herself and her neighbors and friends lose weight by communally discussing their weightloss issues. Nidetch's belief, which became the core of the Weight Watchers philosophy, was that anyone could be given a “diet” but the group and social setting of “talk therapy” was the true component not only to losing weight but also to keeping it off. She believed in fostering success through group support, and she created a simple reward system that included pins and tie bars to reward increments of weight loss. The idea was simple, yet very effective!