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Weight Watchers Founder Jean Nidetch Dies at 91
Nidetch came up with the diet plan in the '60s to aid her own weight loss
Jean Nidetch, who founded Weight Watchers, died early Wednesday morning, The Associated Press reports. She was 91.
Nidetch passed away at her retirement community outside Fort Lauderdale, Fla., according to her son David Nidetch.
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In 1961, after struggling with her weight since early childhood, Nidetch came up with her own diet plan to help herself lose weight. She soon began inviting her overweight friends to join her to discuss their food habits in her living room in Queens.
Two years later, she officially launched Weight Watchers, and it became an instant hit. She sold the company to Heinz Co. for $71 million in 1978. However, in her 2009 autobiography The Jean Nidetch Story she revealed she's "not a millionaire anymore." But Nidetch didn't seem too concerned about her fortune or lack thereof. Instead, she always said her greatest legacy was the millions of people her weight-loss plan helped.
Nidetch is survived by her son David.