How Diets Became A $71 Billion Industry, From Atkins To Noom

It’s that time of the year—holiday feasts, January 1st, new year’s resolutions. And if you’ve told yourself, “this is the year I’m going to lose the weight,” you’re not alone. Each year 45 million people in the United States go on weight loss programs and there’s no shortage of options— from tailored meal plans like Slim Fast and Nutrisystem to high fat, no carb, no gluten models like Keto and Paleo.

Diet and weight loss have grown to be a $71 billion industry, yet according to studies— 95% of diets fail. And with the rise of social media, there’s even more pressure to obtain seemingly impossible beauty standards—for men and women. Here’s how the diet industry grew to be a multi billion-dollar machine.

CORRECTION (January 11, 2021): At 3:17 and 4:21, we misstated the amount of money Atkins spent on advertising in 2020. The correct amount is $53 million, not $530 million.

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How Diets Became A $71 Billion Industry, From Atkins To Noom