Jean Nidetch is the founder of the Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers is an international company that offers various dieting products and services to assist weight loss and maintenance. Founded in 1963 by Brooklyn homemaker Jean Nidetch, it operates in about 30 countries around the world, generally under names that are local translations of “Weight...

 organization.

An overweight housewife

Homemaker

Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...

 with a self-confessed obsession for eating cookie

Cookie

In the United States and Canada, a cookie is a small, flat, baked treat, usually containing fat, flour, eggs and sugar. In most English-speaking countries outside North America, the most common word for this is biscuit; in many regions both terms are used, while in others the two words have...

s, Nidetch had experimented with numerous fad

FAD

In biochemistry, flavin adenine dinucleotide is a redox cofactor involved in several important reactions in metabolism. FAD can exist in two different redox states, which it converts between by accepting or donating electrons. The molecule consists of a riboflavin moiety bound to the phosphate...

 diets

Dieting

Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated fashion to achieve or maintain a controlled weight. In most cases dieting is used in combination with physical exercise to lose weight in those who are overweight or obese. Some athletes, however, follow a diet to gain weight...

 before, in 1961, following a regimen prescribed by a diet clinic sponsored by the New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 Board of Health. After losing 20 pounds (9.07 kg), and finding her resolve weakening, she contacted several overweight friends and founded a support group

Support group

In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic...

 which developed into weekly classes, and incorporated in 1963 into the Weight Watchers organization.

In 1978, Weight Watchers was sold to the H. J. Heinz Company

H. J. Heinz Company

The H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...

. Nidetch, who remains a consultant to the organization, has established scholarship programs at the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Nevada

University of Nevada, Reno

The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...

. She currently lives in Parkland, Florida

Parkland, Florida

Parkland is an city in Broward County, Florida, where zoning laws are designed to protect the "parklike" character of the city. Initially, there were no stores or traffic lights in Parkland, though this changed in the early 2000s. As of the 2010 census, the population of Parkland was 23,962...

.

Sources

• Jean Nidetch at PBS.org
• Jean Nidetch at HoratioAlger.org
• The History of Weight Watchers at DWLZ.com