Nutrisystem CEO explains why weight loss is no longer just 'one size fits all'
- According to the CDC, about 40 percent of the U.S. population (over 90 million Americans over the age of 20) is considered obese.
- Nutrisystem CEO Dawn Zier believes progress is being made, but dieters need to pick a program they can stick to.
Losing weight is always among the top resolution people make for a new year—but what about the results?
Most of those vows have to do with losing weight. In fact, a lot of gyms see brisk business in early January, as resolution-makers vow to whip themselves into shape – only to abandon the quest in short order.
"What we find is by January 12th, less than two weeks after January 1st, people are already dropping their New Year's resolutions," Nutrisystem President and CEO Dawn Zier told CNBC's "On the Money" in a recent interview.
While funny quips abound about losing weight after January 1, obesity is far from being a joke. According to the CDC, about 40 percent of the U.S. population (over 90 million Americans over the age of 20) is considered obese.
Still, Zier believes progress is being made.
"The conversation has changed over the last 5 or 6 years from vanity to real health and wellness," she said, "which I'm so thrilled as a woman the conversation is going."
The overall advice on how to get healthier has been consistent for years, eat less, eat better and exercise. Nutrisystem's programs are molded according to these tenets, Zier explained.
"We provide the structure to make sure that (healthy eating and exercise) happens," she said. "For us it's more of a structured program so people stay with it longer."
Nutrisystem has a 28 day home delivery meal program, which costs about $300 a month. Clients also supplement the boxed food with fresh fruits and vegetables they purchase locally.
"Customers want everything delivered to their home, they don't want to have to go out and shop, they want to order everything online," Zier said. "So we kind of transact the way America wants to transact."
Yet Zier said the convenience helps people stay with the program.
"We have programs customers can choose, because it's no longer about one-size-fits-all losing weight," she said. That is especially true amid the rise of trendy meal plans like the high-fat, low carb Keto diet.
"The right plan is the program you can stick with," Zier cautioned, adding that Nutrisystem has its own version of Keto and "South Beach diet" meals.
"Different people have different needs," she said. "So if you love your carbs, South Beach probably is not the program for you, but Nutrisystem would be more the way to go."
Zier said the structure and time savings of their plans helps customers stay on track with their fitness goals. "It's really easy to prepare so I think we break through those busy lifestyles."