PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) – Jean Nidetch, a New York housewife who tackled her own obesity, then shared her guiding principles with others in meetings that became known as Weight Watchers, the most widely known company of its kind, died Wednesday. She was 91.
She died at her home at a senior complex in Parkland, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale, her son David Nidetch said.
Plagued by her weight since childhood and carrying 214 pounds on her 5-foot-7 frame, Nidetch went to an obesity clinic sponsored by the New York City Board of Health in 1961 and began picking up tips that slowly seemed to work.
No skipping meals. Fish five times a week. Two pieces of bread and two glasses of skim milk a day. More fruits and vegetables.
She took off two pounds the first week but disliked the way the clinic’s leader imparted information and how little the obesity group’s members shared. So she gathered six overweight friends in her Queens living room to share what she’d learned and talk about their own food compulsions. She found it a relief to share her struggle with others, and they did too.