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Weight Wins was developed by entrepreneur Winton Rossiter (MBA Harvard Business School). A dual UK-US citizen, Mr. Rossiter was previously an investment banker in the field of private equity.
Message from the Founder, Winton Rossiter
‘Pounds for Pounds’
As another ‘diet season’ swept over us in January 2007, I asked myself: Why is it so difficult to lose weight, especially in the long term? And as a businessman, I looked at the weight loss industry and asked: Why isn’t it more effective in reducing overweight in the general population? Why do people join weight loss groups and gyms only to drop out a few months later and put the weight back on? Why does home exercise equipment always end up gathering dust? And why do millions of people not even make the effort?
I concluded that the problem is motivation, or rather the lack of motivation: the industry has been telling people what to do, but not giving them an incentive to do it. I decided it’s time for a new approach. Now, people want to lose weight for lots of reasons. But what can motivate everybody? I asked a lot of people. It turns out that all they want is a simple weight loss goal and a reward for reaching it. So I decided to start a company that does just that. Of course, there’s nothing new about incentives to lose weight: people make informal weight challenges all the time. But we’ve designed a structured programme that maximises an individual’s chances of success over the long term. And I decided to make the rewards BIG for maximum motivation and to encourage participation by all kinds of people.
Will it work? Well, all our trials have been very successful, with our members losing much more weight for longer periods than with traditional methods alone such as exercise plans, diet plans, meal replacement, counselling and support groups. This is good news for the millions of individuals who desire better health and quality of life. It’s also good news for government policymakers and health services who are struggling to find an effective weapon in their battle against obesity.
In societies as in individuals, controlling overweight requires eternal vigilance. I foresee an emerging weight incentive industry, forming part of what is known as the ‘wellness’ industry. Two pioneering companies of note in America are Tangerine Wellness and Virgin Health Miles, who provide health incentive programmes to corporations for the benefit of employees. In the UK, PruHealth offers points-based rewards and discounts on private medical insurance for members who follow a healthy lifestyle. StickK.com allows you to enter into a personal commitment contract. What makes Weight Wins different from these solutions is its total focus on motivation for long term weight loss using very large cash rewards. This also gives us the flexibility to work alongside commercial health and wellness partners and consumer brands.
Not everyone likes our concept, particularly in a public health context. Some think it’s wrong to ‘bribe’ people; we think we’re providing a structure that helps people to lead a healthier lifestyle. Some think it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money; we think we can create major savings in crippling healthcare costs. Some think people will put weight back on after they complete our programme and collect their reward; we think those that have successfully changed their behaviour over a 6 -12 month period have a good chance of succeeding for life.
In the end, it comes down to this: is obesity a crisis or not? If it is, we require fresh solutions because the old ones aren’t working. Furthermore, individuals are demanding a new, personalised approach to better health and quality of life. I hope you will support me in this timely project.
Yours faithfully,
Winton G Rossiter
Founder and Managing Director
