PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) - The woman who founded Weight Watchers has died.
Jean Nidetch was 91 when she died Wednesday near Fort Lauderdale. Her death was confirmed by her son, David Nidetch.
Nidetch was a New York housewife when she founded Weight Watchers in 1963 after beating her own weight battles using dieting tips she learned at a city health clinic. She packaged those into a fun format where dieters met and worked together.
By the following year, classes were held across New York, with dozens of participants going on to lead sessions of their own. A cookbook sold millions. By Weight Watchers' 10th birthday, it was so popular that 16,000 people attended a gathering at Madison Square Garden.
When she and two partners sold the company in 1978, they received almost $71 million.