WeightWatchers unveils plan for major new UK programme after bankruptcy

Powerful weight loss jabs are "not a panacea" for the obesity crisis, WeightWatchers' new top doctor has said as she insisted its programmes are "needed more than ever". Health startup veteran Dr Kim Boyd has been named as the firm's chief medical officer as it emerges from bankruptcy.

Outlining plans for a new programme offering specialist support for women going through menopause, she told the Express that the 62-year-old brand is evolving in an age of anti-obesity drugs. GLP-1 drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy are "incredibly powerful medications, and they have changed the game", Dr Boyd said. She added: "It's amazing to get results that you could previously only get with bariatric surgery, but they're not the full story at all."

Around 1.5 million people in the UK are thought to be using weight loss drugs, with many accessing them through private prescriptions as NHS eligibility remains heavily restricted.

Dr Boyd said prices had come down since the first such treatments became available, but offering them to everyone who is eligible would "still bankrupt healthcare systems".

Questioning the economic sustainability of relying too heavily on the drugs, she pointed to mounting evidence which shows they work best in combination with nutrition and lifestyle support.

She said: "WeightWatchers is very much needed more than ever in a world of GLP-1s. The medications are very, very powerful but they are not a panacea."

The medic added: "If you're building a house, even if you have an incredible nail gun, you still need saws and screwdrivers and other things."

The weight loss landscape has changed dramatically over recent decades, shifting focus from calorie counting and restriction to clean eating and weight loss medications.

Their soaring popularity was widely blamed when WeightWatchers filed for bankruptcy in the US in May, clearing £840 million in debt.

Dr Boyd described the process as a "thoughtful debt restructure" which allowed the slimming firm to deal with "legacy debt that had been around for many years". And she insisted that a new leadership team had fresh ideas that will help the brand evolve and survive.

WeightWatchers began as an in-person, non-medical intervention in the 1960s and is best known for its points-based approach to food intake.

This year, it launched a partnership with CheqUp, a weight loss jab provider in the UK. CheqUp members can access WeightWatchers' GLP-1 companion programme, which offers nutritional guidance, progress tracking and group support.

Now, the company plans to launch a menopause programme this autumn, which will offer tailored support.

Dr Boyd said some women experience symptoms they do not realise are linked to the life change, or find themselves doing the same exercise and eating the same foods they always have, but suddenly experiencing weight gain, particularly around their belly.

She said: "They may feel like they're going crazy or there's something wrong with them. That's a really common story we hear from women all the time. So it's our job to say: 'You're not crazy. Here's how we can help you.'"

In the US, the menopause programme will include prescriptions for hormone therapy where appropriate. In the UK, it will focus on behavioural changes such as making sure women are eating enough fibre and resistance training to support healthy bones.

It will also educate women about lesser-known symptoms linked to menopause, such as brain fog, mood swings, skin changes and joint pain.

Dr Boyd added: "70% of WeightWatchers members are in a perimenopausal, menopausal or postmenopausal age group. We also know that up to 70% of women in menopause experience weight gain, and it's a hormonal weight gain so how are we able to address that?

"To be able to have that really comprehensive programming for women is something we're really excited about."

Dr Boyd, a primary care doctor by training, described obesity as the "public health epidemic of our time", adding: "The curves are not going in the right direction."

But she stressed that WeightWatchers' offering goes beyond weight loss through its holistic approach and community groups, which deliver 20,000 meetings per month globally across 11 markets. The UK is the company's third biggest market.

Dr Boyd added: "Yes, it is about losing weight, but we have so much more to be doing and learning from than just the number on the scale.

"If you look at longevity data, connection and dealing with isolation and loneliness actually potentially has more health impact than all of these things that we're prescribing."