Good morning, Broadsheet readers! A woman could soon lead the Navy for the first time, DEI positions are disappearing, and WeightWatchers’ CEO explains to Fortune senior writer Maria Aspan why she's embracing the Ozempic era. Have a meaningful Monday!
- The end of dieting? Ozempic is everywhere these days: Awards shows, subway ads, all of the headlines—and the ballooning bottom lines of the pharmaceutical companies selling the new class of related weight-loss drugs. But this Big Pharma gold rush has created a more complicated landscape for another big business: the $80 billion weight-loss industry.
For decades, companies like WeightWatchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, and Noom have made billions of dollars by preaching diets, exercise, “behavioral changes”—and above all, willpower. But now it’s much easier, and often more effective, to just take a weekly shot of Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or another so-called miracle drug. As customers embrace the pharma alternative to their traditional businesses, WeightWatchers and Noom are trying to pivot.
