Jenny Craig stresses its ease of fitting into a busy lifestyle, as the food is pre-prepared, and also its healthful balance. It is not low-carb and does it entirely cut out sweets and indulgent foods -- portion control is important in the program, as it is for Lean Cuisine. It also offers counseling for women about emotional over-eating. Learning how not to over-eat for comfort, not conforming to an ideal of past, youthful beauty, is the focus of Jenny Craig. It is thus a plan that addresses the needs and concerns of a woman who basically accepts herself, but wants to abandon some of her more unhealthy eating habits.

Carb-conscious dieters

One of the unique facets of the Atkins diet promotional campaign is that it does not only feature women. This may sound unremarkable, but given that the major diet retailers usually use women, who are presumably more weight-conscious than men because of aesthetic reasons (or feel more culturally pressured to subject themselves to the rigors of dieting) this feature of Atkins is noteworthy. Atkins is a high-protein diet and has been highly criticized by members of the medical community as being unbalanced and unhealthy. However, its embrace of meat and cheese as 'diet products' has made it more attractive to men than the strict portion control advocated by Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig.

Interestingly enough for a diet site, Atkins has no 'beautiful' models at all, to whom the viewer is supposed to aspire...

Rather, it seems to stress health, showing men and women with their families, or a doctor holding a clipboard. The fact that a doctor designed the program is given prominence in its letterhead, and it includes a long segment upon the website detailing the nutritional science behind the program. This is also meant to allay fears that it promotes heart disease. The website contains links to the many Atkins products that enable an individual to live a 'low-carb lifestyle,' and rather than stressing moderate change in portions or food choices, Atkins emphasizes that its diet necessitates a radical life change. An Atkins dieter must change the way he or she views and approaches food.
For individuals needing to lose a great deal of weight, the scientific approach and design of the website may be appealing. Also, the lack of emotional appeals may make it more attractive to men, in contrast to the 'testimonial' style of the Jenny Craig site. People seeking to make a break with old eating patterns and transform their lives may be attracted by the 'all or nothing' approach by Atkins, and its stress upon quick and demonstrable results.

Works Cited

Atkins. Official Website. (2008). Retrieved 29 Jan 2008 at http://www.atkins.com/

Jenny Craig Official Website. (2008). Retrieved 29 Jan 2008 at http://www.jennycraig.com/

Lean Cuisine: Products." (2008). Official Website. Retrieved 29 Jan 2008 at http://www.leancuisine.com/Products