Last week, as Americans were still nibbling on Thanksgiving leftovers, Weight Watchers made an announcement that changed everything for its one million-plus clients — by banishing its "points plan," a dieting system that gave all calories a similar value regardless of their source. Introduced in 1997, the points plan had become a "cultural touchstone," says The New York Times, inspiring "cultlike" devotion. Now a replacement system, called PointsPlus, will allot points based on a complex equation that factors in a food's protein, fiber, carbs, and fat. Although Weight Watchers' chief scientific officer, Karen Miller-Kovach, proudly calls the new plan a "complete overhaul," some are already complaining and quipping about its "tyranny." Did Weight Watchers act wisely?
This should be common sense: The new plan's "basic notion of more apples, fewer cookies, and stopping when you're full" is "smart," says Mary Elizabeth Williams in Salon. It's also basic common sense. That some outraged dieters became so dependent on the "strict dogma" of the old system is a "a sad statement on how disconnected we are as a culture with the food in front us and the cues our bodies are sending."
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