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, died Wednesday. She was 91. The company that she started became the most widely known company of its kind.
Nidetch reached her goal weight of 142 pounds on Oct. 30, 1962. As the weekly meetings at her home grew to include dozens of people, two of them — Felice and Al Lippert — convinced Nidetch she had the makings of a business. Weight Watchers International was founded in 1963.
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Jean Nidtech's story and how her own battle with extra pounds became a business: 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. Read the full story
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