The Drugs Have Won and the Smart Money Knows It (credit to Jake Novak for this great line)

What do you do when your most visible and notable spokesperson basically declares that what you’re doing is ineffective? We’re about to find out how WW (formerly Weight Watchers) navigates.

The rise of Weight Watchers and America’s diet culture

Weight Watchers was founded by a nurse, Jean Nidtech, who had tried every kind of diet known, unsuccessfully. She eventually attended a 10-week long program offered for free by the New York City Board of Health’s obesity clinic. The prescribed diet was called “The Prudent Diet” and it worked! Jean lost 20 pounds. Like many who enjoy an initial weight loss, though, she found her commitment waning once the program, and the camaraderie that she had with fellow participants ended. So she began to coordinate weekly meetings with a support group of her own, planting the seed for the company that would become Weight Watchers.

She launched Weight Watchers as an official organization in 1963, initially leading each group session herself, but eventually building out a franchise model, in which former attendees could create their own branches and lead their own meetings. The initial idea led to a subscription-based business model which the company has maintained to this day. Over the years, Weight Watchers…