Weight Watchers offers New Years resolution relief with the personalized help Canadians are craving

• One in three Canadians will make a health and fitness-related New Year's Resolution
• However, 80% of Canadians say that they have trouble maintaining a healthy eating program – citing cravings, special occasions and overall motivation as the primary barriers
• 71% of Canadians say that 'real-time advice on how to best keep on track and for motivation/support' would be helpful in trying to achieve their New Year's Resolution
• Weight Watchers gives Canadians the flexibility to meet their health and fitness resolutions through seamless syncing with activity monitors and new on-demand 24/7 Expert Chat

TORONTO, Jan. 12, 2015 /CNW/ - The good news is that one in three Canadians plan to commit to improving their health in 2015, according to a new survey conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of Weight Watchers Canada Ltd. The bad news is that though eight in ten Canadians believe that while it is easy to start a healthy eating program, it is not easy to maintain one. When it comes to losing weight or achieving a healthier lifestyle, the hard part is managing snack cravings, staying on track during special occasions and keeping up motivation. Two-thirds of Canadians surveyed identify that a mentor/coach would help to keep them accountable and on track to achieving their goals.

Luckily, Weight Watchers has heard those concerns and between their holistic health management program, and new innovations they're bringing to market in 2015, they can help improve both the odds and the news.  With more than 50 years of weight management experience, including clinical evidence of the effectiveness of the Weight Watchers approach, no one is better positioned than Weight Watchers to lead in the weight loss, health and fitness ecosystem.

As the World's leading provider of weight management services and U.S. News and World Report's "Best Weight-Loss Diet" five years running, Weight Watchers is committed to helping every Canadian achieve their wellness goals in 2015 and beyond.  That's why every Weight Watchers subscription now includes access to a live bilingual Coach anytime, anywhere and for any reason with new 24/7 Expert Chat. Coaches who have successfully lost weight on Weight Watchers are available to subscribers through 24/7 Expert Chat for instant advice on how to get started, get back on track and stay motivated. This new feature is available to all Weight Watchers subscribers (those on the online plan or those who attend meetings via a subscription plan) through online and mobile chat.

"Weight Watchers entire philosophy and program is built on helping people change their relationship with food for good, providing the inspiration, accountability and support to deal with the reality of their day-to-day experience" explains Stacey Mowbray, President of Weight Watchers Canada. "This is a whole new Weight Watchers.  The ground-breaking 24/7 Expert Chat and recent integration of third-party open APIs in addition to our meetings and existing online tools allows us to deliver the most comprehensive and successful weight-loss plan for Canadians to achieve their goals."

The new 24/7 Expert Chat follows the recent integration with activity monitors and devices including Fitbit® and Jawbone® apps, which provides millions of fitness wearable users the opportunity to seamlessly sync their device to their Weight Watchers account. Combined with the Weight Watchers database of more than 200,000 trackable food items (with PointsPlus values verified by a nutritionist), members can now have a comprehensive and accurate view of both sides of the energy equation – food consumed and energy burned.

"Long-term weight loss goals are best achieved by focusing on both eating and activity, and most of us need skills and support to do both," said Gary Foster, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Weight Watchers. "Weight Watchers goes beyond the basics of food tracking and knowledge, by creating a personalized approach that helps people make better food decisions. Our members already value this in the Meeting room, and now they can benefit from devices and apps to monitor activity, and personalized support anytime and anywhere." 

Making changes to food intake plus increasing physical activity can result in greater weight loss than physical activity alone. In fact, multiple studies show that people lose, on average, three times more weight by combining nutrition and exercise, than through exercise alone¹.  Activity, healthy habits, support and smart food choices: these are the keys that can lead to real, lasting success for Canadians in 2015 and beyond.

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About Weight Watchers Canada Ltd.
Weight Watchers Canada Ltd is the leading Commercial weight management service in Canada and Weight Watchers International, Inc. is the world's leading provider of weight management services, operating globally through a network of Company-owned and franchise operations. Weight Watchers holds more than 40,000 meetings each week where members receive group support and learn about healthy eating patterns, behavior modification and physical activity. Weight Watchers provides innovative, digital weight management products through its websites, mobile sites and apps. Weight Watchers is the leading provider of digital weight management products in the world. In addition, Weight Watchers offers a wide range of products, publications and programs for those interested in weight loss and weight control.

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¹ Wing, R. R., Venditti, E., Jakicic, J. M., Polley, B. A., & Lang, W. (1998). Lifestyle intervention in overweight individuals with a family history of diabetes. Diabetes Care, 21(3), 350-359. Skender, M. L., Goodrick, G., DEL JUNCO, D. J., Reeves, R. S., Darnell, L., Gotto Jr, A. M., & Foreyt, J. P. (1996). Comparison of 2-year weight loss trends in behavioral treatments of obesity: diet, exercise, and combination interventions. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 96(4), 342-346. Foster-Schubert, K. E., Alfano, C. M., Duggan, C. R., Xiao, L., Campbell, K. L., Kong, A., ... & McTiernan, A. (2012). Effect of Diet and Exercise, Alone or Combined, on Weight and Body Composition in Overweight-to-Obese Postmenopausal Women. Obesity, 20(8), 1628-1638. Mason, C., Foster-Schubert, K. E., Imayama, I., Kong, A., Xiao, L., Bain, C., ... & McTiernan, A. (2011). Dietary weight loss and exercise effects on insulin resistance in postmenopausal women. American journal of preventive medicine, 41(4), 366-375. Messier, S. P., Loeser, R. F., Mitchell, M. N., Valle, G., Morgan, T. P., Rejeski, W. J., & Ettinger, W. H. (2000). Exercise and weight loss in obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis: a preliminary study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 48(9), 1062-1072.

SOURCE Weight Watchers Canada

Rebecca Rykiss, [email protected], 1-416-642-7929