Weight Watchers Syncs Up With A Range Of Top Activity Monitors Including Fitbit To Pair Weight Loss Expertise With Activity Tracking

NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) is announcing today seamless syncing with popular activity monitors and apps, bringing millions of fitness wearable users the opportunity for a more complete and integrated weight loss experience.

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 diet and exercise, than through exercise alone¹. With more than 50 years of weight management experience, no one is better positioned than Weight Watchers to lead in the weight loss, health and fitness ecosystem.

The integration will allow activity tracked from top devices to be automatically converted into activity PointsPlus^® values and updated in the Weight Watchers subscriber app. 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.

"Losing weight and keeping it off is 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 helps people make better food decisions, and devices and apps monitor activity. Integrating them can equip people with an ideal combination of resources to achieve their goals."

Integration with Fitbit^® and Jawbone^® is a significant move by Weight Watchers towards integrating with third-party open APIs, and more popular devices and apps will follow soon.

Catherine Ulrich, Chief Product Officer for Weight Watchers added, "Weight Watchers understands that support and livability are critical to weight loss. By helping our members sync with whichever activity tracker or app they choose, we're bringing more flexibility and personalization to our program. We know that some of our members are already using monitors like Fitbit and Jawbone, and they'll appreciate being able to see their activity seamlessly tracked within the Weight Watchers experience. We also look forward to welcoming a broader community of users to Weight Watchers where they can access the full suite of support, advice and tools to support their weight loss goals."

About Weight Watchers International, Inc. 
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. WeightWatchers.com provides innovative, subscription weight management products over the Internet and is the leading Internet-based provider of these 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.

¹Wing, 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 International, Inc.