Approach

The weight management program combines nutrition and physical activity with counseling, to help clients change lifestyle and eating habits. The goal of the program is that once clients reach their desired weight levels, they no longer need to rely on the program's prepackaged food, planned menus, or consultations to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Jenny Craig offers weight loss programs tailored to women, men, people with diabetes and seniors.

Clients are provided with individual, private counseling sessions with program consultants. Consultants are not required to have nutrition or health professional certifications, although they are trained by the company to provide education and support to clients. Members join any one of a number of types of plans and then purchase prepackaged food from their local center. (The company also directly ships dry and frozen foods in chilled containers to clients that join the Jenny Craig At Home program.) Initially, clients are given a planned menu to follow, utilizing the company's line of frozen and dry foods, along with grocery items like dairy and vegetables. Clients later are able to customize their own menus using the same range of foods. Members begin using a menu with one to two days each of non-program foods once they have reached the "halfway point" to their weight goals.

Menu

The foods on menu offered by the Jenny Craig diet plan are designed to meet the USDA Dietary Guidelines. They feature fruits, vegetables, whole grains, reduced fat milk products, and "heart healthy" fats, but also include lean meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts. Cholesterol, sodium, added sugars and saturated fats are low in the foods.

The Jenny Craig Diet includes foods and chocolate designed to appeal to certain groups of people, also. The menu includes meatless selections, as well as plans directed toward men and women, teens, type 2 diabetics, and the elderly.

Effectiveness

According to a systematic review of previously published studies, overweight and obese adults enrolled in Jenny Craig after 12 months had 4.9% more weight loss than subjects in a control/education group (receiving no intervention, printed materials only, health education curriculum, or <3 sessions with a provider) or behavioral counseling group.

Endorsements

In the United States, Jenny Craig has had multiple celebrity clients who have used its programs. In early 2000, Monica Lewinsky served as spokeswoman for the program. In 2005, actress Kirstie Alley became the spokeswoman, later joined by Valerie Bertinelli. While Bertinelli remains a spokesperson, more recent clients have included Queen Latifah, actresses Sara Rue and Nicole Sullivan, as well as actor Jason Alexander and singer Mariah Carey. In January 2011, the company announced that new spokesperson Carrie Fisher had been using the program since November 2010.

Australia

In 2008, comedian Magda Szubanski joined the program and is serving as an "ambassador" for the company in Australia. In January 2011, actor Shane Jacobson was announced as the current male spokesperson for Jenny Craig. In October 2011, ex Spice Girl Mel B was announced as the new female spokesperson for Jenny Craig in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

Ownership

In May 2002, Jenny Craig, Inc., was acquired by MidOcean Partners, a New York and London-based private equity investment firm, and ACI Capital, a New York-based private investment firm. On June 19, 2006, they announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell the company to Nestlé in a transaction valued at approximately $600 million. The company was operated as part of Nestlé Nutrition. On November 19, 2013, Jenny Craig Inc. was purchased by North Castle Partners for an undisclosed amount.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]