In short: Organized weight-loss programs began in 1948, when TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) opened as a low-cost support group. Weight Watchers grew out of Jean Nidetch’s living-room meetings in Queens and became a company in 1963; Nutrisystem (1972) and Jenny Craig (1983 in Australia, 1985 in the U.S.) added packaged meals and centers. In 1993 the Federal Trade Commission charged five of the biggest programs with unsupported weight-loss claims, which is why ads now say results are not typical. Research then caught up: the Diabetes Prevention Program (2002) showed what a structured lifestyle program can do, and Medicare began covering behavioral therapy in 2011. Apps arrived in the 2010s, and since 2023 many programs have added telehealth prescribing of GLP-1 medicines.
This page tells that story from company records and SEC filings, FTC case documents and the major trials. It is history, not a recommendation: for today’s options, see our weight-loss programs hub, the non-prescription programs ranked by evidence and, for prescribing services, telehealth programs compared. The bigger picture of diets, drugs and surgery is in our history of weight loss.
Weight-loss programs in four dates
- 1948TOPS opens, "the first weight loss organization of this kind," in its own wordsTOPS Club
- 1963Jean Nidetch officially founds Weight Watchers after starting meetings in her Queens living roomWeightWatchers
- 1993the FTC charges five of the largest commercial diet programs over unsupported claims and testimonialsBaltimore Sun, October 1, 1993 (reported)
- 2023WeightWatchers completes its purchase of the telehealth company Sequence (April 10)WW International 10-Q, SEC
Checked on October 6, 2026
Before programs: books and calorie counting
For the first half of the 20th century, people trying to lose weight mostly did it alone, with a book. William Banting’s “Letter on Corpulence” (1863) and Lulu Hunt Peters’ calorie guide “Diet and Health” (1918) were best sellers, but there was no group, coach or follow-up. Our history of diet fads covers that era. The idea that changed weight loss after World War II was simple: people do better together, with regular check-ins.
1948: TOPS and the support group
TOPS, short for Take Off Pounds Sensibly, describes itself as “the first weight loss organization of this kind” and says it opened its doors in 1948. It is a nonprofit based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with weekly peer-led meetings in person and online across the U.S. and Canada, and members who reach their goal join “KOPS” (Keep Off Pounds Sensibly). TOPS is still one of the lowest-cost programs. A 2015 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine looked at 207,469 people who joined between 2005 and 2011: the 35.9% who renewed their membership had lost an average of 6.0% of their weight at one year, and those who renewed for seven years in a row kept off 8.3%. Because it only counted people who stayed, it shows what is possible for committed members, not what is typical for everyone who joins.
1961 to 1968: Weight Watchers and the weekly meeting
Jean Nidetch, of Queens, New York, began her own weight-loss effort with a New York City Board of Health program and started inviting friends to talk about it in her living room. According to the company’s own history, about two months later 40 women were meeting there weekly. She officially founded Weight Watchers in 1963 and took the company public five years later. Weekly group meetings with a weigh-in became the familiar model for commercial programs. In 2013, New York’s mayor declared March 25 Weight Watchers Founder Celebration Day for its 50th anniversary. Today’s program is covered on our WW (WeightWatchers) page.
1972 to 1985: packaged meals and diet centers
The next wave sold food as well as support. Nutrisystem’s SEC filings say its businesses began in 1972 and operated for years through company-owned and franchised weight-loss centers; in late 1999 it began selling directly to consumers by internet and phone, and in 2001 through the QVC shopping channel. Jenny Craig’s filings say the company began in Australia in 1983, had 69 centres there by the end of fiscal 1985, and expanded to the U.S. in February 1985 with 13 centres in the Los Angeles area, followed by six in Chicago that September. Both combined portion-controlled meals with counseling, an approach that later trials tested directly. Our pages on Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig describe them now.
1993 to 1997: the FTC and “results not typical”
By the early 1990s, commercial programs were a big business, and regulators questioned their advertising. In September 1993, as the Baltimore Sun reported on October 1, the Federal Trade Commission charged five of the largest programs, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Diet Center, Physicians Weight Loss Centers and Nutri/System, with making unsubstantiated weight-loss claims and using testimonials without evidence that they reflected typical results. Three settled right away; Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig said they would fight. The FTC estimated that about six million people spent more than $2 billion a year on these programs.
Jenny Craig settled in May 1997. Under the order, testimonials had to show typical results or carry the line “This result is not typical. You may be less successful,” claims about keeping weight off had to say “For many dieters, weight loss is temporary,” long-term maintenance claims needed evidence from customers followed for at least two years, and ads had to disclose mandatory fees. Disclosures like these are now a familiar part of weight-loss advertising. The FTC kept up the pressure: its 2014 “Gut Check” guide for media lists seven claims it calls false, such as losing a lot of weight without diet or exercise. Our guide to choosing a program turns those warnings into questions.
2002 to 2015: science tests the programs
Rigorous trials changed how programs are judged. The Diabetes Prevention Program, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002, randomly assigned 3,234 adults with prediabetes to placebo, metformin or a lifestyle program aimed at losing at least 7% of body weight and doing 150 minutes of activity a week. Over an average of 2.8 years, the lifestyle program cut new cases of diabetes by 58% and metformin by 31%. That program became the model for the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program and, after CMS certified it for expansion in 2016, for a Medicare benefit.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Placebo | 11 |
| Metformin | 7.8 |
| Lifestyle program | 4.8 |
3,234 adults with raised blood sugar, average follow-up 2.8 years. The lifestyle goal was at least 7% weight loss and 150 minutes of activity a week.
Source: Knowler WC et al., New England Journal of Medicine 2002 (Diabetes Prevention Program) (checked on October 6, 2026)
Turning a trial into a national program took time. In the first four years of the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program, 14,747 adults took part; they attended a median of 14 sessions, lost 4.2% of their weight on average, and 35.5% reached the 5% goal, with each extra session linked to a little more loss. Medicare’s version runs as 16 weekly core sessions followed by monthly sessions, and Medicare.gov says people who qualify pay nothing. The lesson that carried over to every later program was that attendance matters: people who keep showing up tend to lose more.
In 2011, Medicare began covering intensive behavioral therapy for obesity in primary care for people with a BMI of 30 or more: weekly visits in the first month, every other week for months 2 to 6, and monthly for months 7 to 12 for those who had lost at least 3 kg (about 6.6 lb). The Look AHEAD trial, published in 2013, tested an intensive lifestyle program in 5,145 adults with type 2 diabetes, with planned follow-up of up to 13.5 years. Weight loss was 8.6% vs 0.7% at one year and 6.0% vs 3.5% at the end; the program improved blood sugar and fitness but did not reduce heart attacks and strokes, showing both the reach and the limits of lifestyle programs on their own.
| Item | Lifestyle program | Diabetes support and education |
|---|---|---|
| At 1 year | 8.6% | 0.7% |
| At study end (median 9.6 years) | 6% | 3.5% |
5,145 adults with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes at 16 U.S. centers. The trial stopped early for futility on its heart outcome.
Source: Look AHEAD Research Group, New England Journal of Medicine 2013 (checked on October 6, 2026)
Commercial programs were finally compared too. A 2015 systematic review in the Annals of Internal Medicine of 45 studies found that, compared with education or no program, Weight Watchers led to at least 2.6% more weight loss at 12 months and Jenny Craig at least 4.9%; Nutrisystem led to at least 3.8% more at 3 months, and very-low-calorie programs such as Medifast showed short-term gains that faded after 6 months. The authors noted that many trials were short and lost many participants. Our medical vs commercial programs guide puts these results next to medical care.
2008 to 2020: apps and digital coaching
Smartphones moved programs from the church hall to the pocket. Noom was founded in 2008, according to a profile of its co-founder by the Korea Society, and built a program of short daily lessons based on behavior-change psychology with food and weight logging; a 2016 study of 35,921 users found 77.9% reported losing weight while using it, though it was observational and relied on self-reported data. Established programs added apps and online meetings, and Nutrisystem had already shifted to online sales. In 2018 the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that clinicians offer or refer adults with a BMI of 30 or more to intensive behavioral programs, noting that the effective ones usually had 12 or more sessions in the first year. Our Noom page and WW vs Noom comparison show where those two stand now.
2023 to today: programs that prescribe
GLP-1 medicines changed the business model. On April 10, 2023, WeightWatchers completed its acquisition of Sequence, a telehealth company, and now offers clinician visits and prescriptions alongside its points program. Noom, Ro and Hims & Hers built similar services. The older center-based model weakened: in May 2023 news reports covered the closure of the original Jenny Craig company, and on July 5, 2023 Wellful, which also owns Nutrisystem, bought the Jenny Craig brand and relaunched it online. WeightWatchers itself went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2025, filing on May 6 and emerging on June 24 after eliminating $1.15 billion of debt.
Prescribing brought new questions. During and after shortages, many telehealth services sold compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide, which the FDA stresses are not FDA-approved or reviewed for safety, effectiveness or quality; on February 6, 2026, the agency announced it intends to act against non-FDA-approved GLP-1 drugs that are mass-marketed by companies. Our pages on telehealth weight loss and compounded GLP-1s explain what to check before signing up.
| Year | Milestone | What it added |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) opens | Low-cost peer support groups |
| 1963 | Weight Watchers founded by Jean Nidetch; public in 1968 | Weekly meetings and weigh-ins as a business |
| 1972 | Nutrisystem businesses begin | Centers and packaged foods |
| 1983 / 1985 | Jenny Craig starts in Australia, then the U.S. | Centers, meals and one-to-one counseling |
| 1993 / 1997 | FTC charges five programs; Jenny Craig settles | “Results not typical” disclosures |
| 1999 | Nutrisystem moves to internet and phone sales | Direct-to-consumer delivery |
| 2002 | Diabetes Prevention Program results | Proof that a structured lifestyle program prevents diabetes |
| 2008 | Noom founded | App-based coaching |
| 2011 | Medicare covers intensive behavioral therapy for obesity | Programs in primary care |
| 2013 | Look AHEAD results | Long-term limits of lifestyle programs alone |
| 2014 | FTC “Gut Check” guide | A public list of false weight-loss claims |
| 2015 | Systematic review of commercial programs | Side-by-side evidence |
| 2016 / 2018 | Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program certified; USPSTF recommendation | Coverage and a national standard |
| 2023 | WeightWatchers buys Sequence; Jenny Craig brand sold to Wellful | Programs that prescribe |
| 2025 | WeightWatchers completes Chapter 11 | A restructured industry |
What 75 years of programs teach
Five lessons from TOPS to telehealth
- Support worksFrom TOPS meetings to the DPP, regular contact and accountability are the common thread of programs that help.
- More sessions, more resultsThe USPSTF found that effective programs usually had 12 or more sessions in the first year.
- Typical is smaller than the adsThe FTC made "results not typical" a rule because testimonials overstated what most people lose.
- Keeping it off is the hard partLook AHEAD and the TOPS study show weight loss can last, but usually less than at the peak.
- Ask what is prescribedTelehealth programs can be helpful, but check whether a medicine is FDA-approved or compounded.
If you are choosing a program today, start with our 12 questions to ask, and for keeping weight off afterward, see our guide to maintaining weight loss and the habits of people who keep it off. Programs that prescribe medicines are medical care, so the decision belongs with you and a clinician.