This paper compares two of the most widely recognized diet programs — Weight Watchers and the Atkins Diet — examining their origins, core philosophies, practical mechanics, and health implications. Weight Watchers, founded in the early 1960s by Jean Nidetch, uses a points-based system emphasizing portion control, balanced eating, and peer support. The Atkins Diet, developed by Dr. Robert Atkins in 1972, advocates high-protein, low-carbohydrate eating without portion restrictions. The paper evaluates the advantages and drawbacks of each program, drawing on dietitian assessments, personal dieter testimonials, and medical organization warnings, ultimately concluding that neither plan is universally superior and that individual needs should guide diet selection.
Among the most famous of dieting trends is the Weight Watchers program. Weight Watchers was founded by Jean Nidetch and Felice Marks Lippert in the early 1960s, after Nidetch had great success losing weight on a particular diet prescribed at a weight-loss clinic. This weight-loss program is based on a diet plan originally created by Dr. Norman Jollife. Nidetch took this plan — on which she had great success — into a women's support group, and it became a highly successful business within a few short years. Nidetch felt it was important to spread the word about this eating plan and her formulated success because of the emotional and physical benefits she experienced after losing the weight. She built her support groups not only on a basic menu and exercise plan, but also on the emotional and mental needs of the overweight and dieting person. Today, Weight Watchers is a multinational corporation with approximately 25 million dieting "graduates" and over $1 billion in revenues (Brierly et al.). High-profile Weight Watchers members have included the former royal Sarah Ferguson (Nelson), and the program is backed by websites, television commercials, popular magazine features, and healthcare professionals. Dieters can expect to lose between one and two pounds per week on this plan.
Today, Weight Watchers is almost synonymous with weight-loss programs. It has a great many advantages, but there are drawbacks as well. The commercial success of this program does not necessarily mean that it is — or is not — the right plan for any particular person. The basic philosophy of the Weight Watchers menu plan is relatively simple, based on balanced and diverse food choices eaten in moderation.
Weight Watchers is a program based on points and incentives for tracking portions; awareness of portion sizes is a vital part of the program (AA, "Diet Comparison"). The points system can seem intimidating and confusing at first, but it is actually relatively simple. All foods are assigned a point value based on their nutritional content. Unlike many diet programs that base points solely on calories or fat content, Weight Watchers uses a wide spectrum of nutritional information to determine point values. Each dieter is assigned a daily points goal based on their total body weight. If the daily points goal is met but not exceeded, the dieter will have the proper nutrition and caloric intake to promote weight loss.
Physical activities and exercises are each assigned a kind of negative point value, so that food points can be earned back after they have been used. This means that if a dieter meets their physical activity requirements for the day, they are able to eat more food than if they had been sedentary. Weight Watchers also designates 35 reserve points each week, so that the dieter may occasionally splurge on extra food at a social event without breaking the plan. This loophole helps prevent the "cheating" that so often occurs when a person is in a situation where not partaking in food would be awkward — by working the occasional treat into the plan. Alternatively, the dieter may choose not to use those reserve points on extra food intake, which will boost weight loss (FlexPoints).
Unlike many other diets, nothing is considered entirely off-limits so far as food choices are concerned (AA, "Diet Comparison"). Any foods are allowed, and eating a wide assortment from all food groups is highly encouraged. Healthy eating choices become a way of life, rather than a set of strict rules about junk foods — rules that tend to fail because they are always "made to be broken." A complete lifestyle change, by contrast, becomes natural over time. Any food, from chocolate cake to Brussels sprouts, can be part of the regular diet, as long as the moderation of the points system is followed.
In addition to the menu plan, Weight Watchers offers something more, which is actually the key to many participants' success. The program combines its points system with other weight-loss and exercise ideas, along with the support and encouragement of fellow dieters at support meetings. There are weekly weigh-ins conducted by local chapter leaders at Weight Watchers centers, which help determine any necessary changes to a dieter's points plan. Weight Watchers also offers hotlines that provide encouragement and advice to members between support group meetings, for moments when the dieter needs an emotional boost.
Today there are also online Weight Watchers groups, which are a better alternative for some dieters who do not have the time to attend local meetings or who face a prohibitively long commute to the nearest center. These online forums have significant advantages but lack the person-to-person atmosphere of the Weight Watchers centers. The program also offers specialty cookbooks and exercise plans to help dieters stay on track and remain creative, though these are helpful additions rather than requirements. Weight Watchers manufactures prepackaged meals and snacks specifically labeled with their points values for easy reference, but these are likewise not a necessary investment (WLI, "Weight Watchers").
Dietitians say that this diet has stood the test of time and that the self-management tools it teaches will help dieters maintain their weight loss in the long term, developing healthy eating habits rather than delivering only short-term results that fade or reverse over time (DietSurf, Weight Watchers). Dietitians also agree that the daily points system is consistent with NIH guidelines for minimum caloric intake during healthy weight loss — a standard many other diet plans do not follow (Alexander et al.).
One dieter who used Weight Watchers and gave it a very positive review was an art director at FLEX magazine who was trying to lose weight before her wedding. She said she enjoyed the program because it had no strict regimen to follow, giving her the freedom to enjoy a treat at social events. She also found it more realistic than high-protein or low-carb diets. She reported that the points system was not particularly difficult to learn, noting that Weight Watchers provides points information for many specific food brands and restaurant chains to simplify the process.
She found the Weight Watchers support staff very friendly and encouraging, and that the weekly weigh-ins — which prevented her from avoiding accountability — were very helpful. She attended many events where high-calorie intake occurred and still managed to lose 12 pounds in nine weeks using the points system and a low-impact exercise plan (Alexander et al.).
"Cost, complexity, and limitations of the program"
Many of the prepackaged foods are reported as not being very appetizing (Nelson), and both the prepackaged foods and specialty items are quite costly, especially over a long period of time. Another problem — by no means unique to this program — is that success is measured largely by weight loss alone, rather than by overall fitness levels, which are more difficult to detect. For people who gain weight in muscle mass from improved exercise routines, or for those with larger, denser body builds, the weekly weigh-ins can actually be discouraging rather than motivating. There is also the risk that some dieters may be assigned too low a points value for their actual nutritional needs, leading to hunger and overeating because they do not feel satisfied (Alexander et al.).
It is important to note that in the more than forty years the Weight Watchers system has been in use, no known health risks or safety warnings have been associated with the plan. People who have followed the program correctly have remained healthy and active while dieting, and the local centers and group meetings help prevent misuse by identifying problem behaviors and addressing them with the individual in a positive setting.
Another popular diet is the Atkins Diet, which is vastly different from the Weight Watchers system. This diet plan was founded in 1972 by the late Dr. Robert Atkins, a cardiologist and businessman. Atkins developed his plan through personal experience after seeing a photograph of himself in the 1960s that revealed the weight he had gained since his undergraduate days. His central concern was that while people can lose weight on traditional low-calorie, low-fat diets, those dieters have decades more to live and will feel perpetually hungry if they stick to small-portion eating. Atkins instead promoted a diet focused on cutting carbohydrates rather than calories — an approach as controversial then as it is now (CNN). Atkins is considered the model for the high-protein, low-carbohydrate category of diets, and high-profile supporters have included Jennifer Aniston (Nelson).
The Atkins plan does not promote portion control. People are allowed to eat as much as they want, as often as they like, as long as they avoid certain foods — namely carbohydrates. Atkins is based on the theory that it is carbohydrates alone that cause weight gain, and that strict limits on carbohydrate intake allow the body to burn fat (Adriano et al.). The plan also emphasizes high protein intake. Dieters are encouraged to eat meats, poultry, seafood, eggs, cheese, butter, cream, oil, nuts, some non-starchy vegetables, and artificial sweeteners. Foods to be avoided include anything with high carbohydrate content: breads, pastas, potatoes, sugars and sweets, most fruits and vegetables, alcohol, and caffeine (CNN; Nelson).
This approach went completely against what healthcare professionals considered healthy eating practices at the time it was introduced, and significant controversy about the plan remains. The rationale behind this seemingly illogical diet is that a controlled-carbohydrate plan centered on nutrition-dense foods is more likely to meet a dieter's actual nutritional needs than a low-calorie, low-fat diet. Theoretically, the standard Atkins meal plan — when analyzed by a computer program called Nutritionist V — has been found to meet or exceed the recommended daily intake for almost all vitamins and minerals. The Atkins website claims that numerous studies support the idea that this meat-based diet is healthy and promotes weight loss (FAQ).
The scientific mechanism behind the weight loss is a process called lipolysis/ketosis — in simple terms, the body burns stored fat and converts it into fuel. When there is no carbohydrate intake available for energy, the body turns to fat as its primary fuel source (FAQ).
"Appeal, health risks, and expert criticism of Atkins"
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