Mobile phones to inform customers of what to eat at point of purchase

This could be interesting for Weight Watchers clients or potentially even on board a P&O Cruise, recommending appropriate cocktails for each part of the ship??? Thanks AFN for this food for thought.

Mobile phones to inform customers of what to eat at point of purchase

American-based WebDiet, Inc. has created a program which provides consumers with customised meal suggestions at the point of purchase based on the needs, wants and location of the customer. It is a new smartphone-based service to help people make smarter eating choices and improve their health, according to the creators. WebDiet is the first and only service to proactively send customers specific and dynamic meal suggestions, directly to their email and mobile devices immediately before time of purchase. Meal recommendations sent throughout the day are customised to users’ diet goals, based on what they’ve already eaten and their remaining calories for the day.

WebDiet utilises wireless, GPS and smartphone technologies, including iPhones, to bring WebDiet’s unique real-time Meal-by-Meal Guidance system to the palm of the consumer’s hand. To help attain weight and health goals, meal suggestions are sent directly before meal times based on personal settings and preferences, and can be custom-configured to support restricted calorie diets, low carb, low sodium, vegetarian, kosher and more diet choices.

“WebDiet gives consumers a smart and easy way to eat better, keep track of what they eat, and get healthy — even on the go — anytime, anywhere,” said Chris Shipley, executive producer of the DEMO Conferences. “Its innovative technology integrates wireless services, GPS, location-based services (LBS) and smartphones — and the company has a profitable business model that I had not seen in this category.”

The company believes the technology is vital to provide consumers with more information about what they should be eating at a time when obesity is on the rise.”Now with fast food popularity growing and our overweight and obesity epidemic on the rise in America, helping people to eat smarter is an urgent task,” said Craig Gold, CEO and co-founder of WebDiet, Inc. “Everyone knows our health depends largely on the choices we make in what we eat, and how much we eat. Research proves that keeping track of what we eat is the best method of losing weight. WebDiet not only makes keeping track easy to do, we go a step further, giving users dynamic real-time meal recommendations based on their daily intake requirements and diet goals.”
Users can select from restaurant and chain-specific meals, standardised meals available by food type and grocery stores, meals made at home, or from The WebDiet Collection(SM) of custom meal suggestions.

The collection of options offers thousands of meal ideas that can be made at home or custom ordered from many chain restaurant and fast food outlets, allowing users to eat at their local favourites while also helping them achieve their health and diet goals, the company suggests.

WebDiet has arranged deals with some food retailers to provide discounts and a linking of the technology with electronic ordering facilities of the retailer appears to be the next step.

Mobile technology is suddenly being linked with food retail around the world, with, for example, i-phones providing a program in the US which directs consumers to suitable nearby restaurants and mobile phones being tested to house credit card information to enable in-store purchases simply with a mobile phone.

See here http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2008/09/10/mobile-phones-to-inform-customers-of-what-to-eat-at-point-of-purchase.html for the original post.

Does this economy make my butt look big?

Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig Suffer as Consumers Have Less Money to Spend on Losing Weight

Thanks to Emily Bryson York - CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- The economy is making you fat.
As gas and commodity prices rise, consumers are finding themselves with fewer spare dollars to reduce their spare tires. As a result, marketers of organized diet programs such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig are expected to feel the pinch.

No dearth of dieters: according to Marketdata Enterprises, 72 million Americans are or will be on a diet this year, up from 55 million a decade ago.

"It's definitely a discretionary dollar," said Michael Binetti, a UBS analyst who lowered earnings-per-share guidance for Weight Watchers last week. Even though the iconic diet program enjoys an advantageous position in that it has strong brand equity and low start-up costs, Mr. Binetti said the 20% of Americans who describe themselves as being on a weight-loss regimen have increasingly been reporting that they are "on their own diet."

Weight Watchers President David Kirchhoff told investors last month that he remains confident in his company's ability to deliver strong results despite "uncertainty in the economy."

What they cost
Other dieting programs such as Jenny Craig charge several hundred dollars in start-up costs, and then members must pay for their food. Weight Watchers charges monthly membership fees between $10 and $15 per week, and their dieters can choose to buy food from the company, products made by licensed vendors, eat out or cook at home.

Jenny Craig is a closely-held private company that declined to comment for this story. Weight Watchers did not respond to requests for comment.

John LaRosa, research director of Marketdata Enterprises in Tampa, Fla., said dieters don't "give up" on losing weight when they need to tighten their belts, "but they will shift toward less expensive do-it-yourself methods instead of doing a structured program like Jenny Craig that might cost $1,100 to $1,200 over three to four months." Mr. LaRosa said some penny-pinchers will go out and buy the hot new diet book, get supplements from GNC, diet pills from the drugstore or join one of the many free online programs.

There's certainly no dearth of dieters. Mr. La Rosa said 72 million Americans are or will be on a diet this year. That's up from 55 million a decade ago.

Success in past recessions
Recessions haven't always been bad for Weight Watchers. The company launched its highly successful "points" system in 1997, but the program was still popular in 2001. Under the system, every imaginable food from celery sticks to banana splits has been assigned a points value. Members are given a number of daily points to eat based on their height, weight and activity level. The system attracted members, Mr. Binetti said, but there just hasn't been much innovation since then.

Despite a flashy new campaign from agency McCann Erickson, New York, this year, Mr. Binetti said that Weight Watchers is still grasping for "new news." The company, which spent $127 on measured media in 2007, according to TNS Media Intelligence, has been outflanked by Jenny Craig in the past year.

Need to reconnect
"They've seen a multiyear slide," Mr. Binetti said of Weight Watchers. "What they need to do is reconnect with new dieters and make it more convenient for customers to embrace the weight-loss plans."

After controversial but highly publicized campaigns with Kirstie Alley and Valerie Bertinelli, Jenny Craig moved its $55 million account from JWT, New York, to Y&R, Irvine, last winter. The company, which still works with Ms. Bertinelli, has added Queen Latifah to its roster.

Jenny Craig has had its share of bad news lately. Unconfirmed reports have circulated that Ms. Alley, who lost 75 pounds on the program, has ballooned up to 240 pounds. Though she is no longer under contract to Jenny Craig, publicity about a weight gain is the last thing the company needs. "If she gains it back, [potential clients] say, 'I guess Jenny Craig wasn't that successful over the long term,'" Mr. La Rosa said.

Japan, Seeking Trim Waists, Measures Millions

Every Australian living within the healthy weight range by 2010? Japan is certainly taking their health seriously... check this out thanks to The New York Times:

By NORIMITSU ONISHIPublished: June 13, 2008

AMAGASAKI, Japan — Japan, a country not known for its overweight people, has undertaken one of the most ambitious campaigns ever by a nation to slim down its citizenry.
Summoned by the city of Amagasaki one recent morning, Minoru Nogiri, 45, a flower shop owner, found himself lining up to have his waistline measured. With no visible paunch, he seemed to run little risk of being classified as overweight, or metabo, the preferred word in Japan these days.

But because the new state-prescribed limit for male waistlines is a strict 33.5 inches, he had anxiously measured himself at home a couple of days earlier. “I’m on the border,” he said.

Under a national law that came into effect two months ago, companies and local governments must now measure the waistlines of Japanese people between the ages of 40 and 74 as part of their annual checkups. That represents more than 56 million waistlines, or about 44 percent of the entire population.

Those exceeding government limits — 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women, which are identical to thresholds established in 2005 for Japan by the International Diabetes Federation as an easy guideline for identifying health risks — and having a weight-related ailment will be given dieting guidance if after three months they do not lose weight. If necessary, those people will be steered toward further re-education after six more months.

To reach its goals of shrinking the overweight population by 10 percent over the next four years and 25 percent over the next seven years, the government will impose financial penalties on companies and local governments that fail to meet specific targets. The country’s Ministry of Health argues that the campaign will keep the spread of diseases like diabetes and strokes in check.

For the full article visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/world/asia/13fat.html?ex=1214280000&en=d468ccbc1f23d207&ei=5070&emc=eta1