Weight Watchers set a new goal of helping 10 million people adopt health habits and up its revenue to more than $2 billion. The company “intends to be a powerful partner for families in establishing healthy habits” so it will offer teens free memberships to help them develop healthy habits at a “critical life stage,” it said in a press release, according to CNBC.
Though extending its diet plans to 13-year-olds may spark controversy as advocates push to improve body image among teens, Weight Watchers is framing the effort as family-based.
“For a six-week period this summer, teens will be able to join Weight Watchers for free. They will be required to go to one of our meeting locations for their parent/guardian to provide consent, as we know that a family-based approach is critical for kids,” a spokeswoman told CNBC. “We’ll share more specific criteria and guidelines when we launch the program … [but] we think there’s a real opportunity to make an impact on a problem that is not currently being addressed effectively.”
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