The U.S. Weight Loss & Diet Control Market: Commercial (non-medical) Programs & Products

The $38 billion U.S. commercial weight loss market is 15% larger than in 2020, but has had to pivot to adjust to huge competition from the popular GLP-1 drugs. The large commercial chains have been hurt the most since 2022. Commercial weight loss firms lost $2 billion in sales to the GLP-1 drugs market. The business has gone virtual, and some competitors have added the GLP-1 drugs to their programs to position themselves for a new future.

However, some commercial markets have held up well. Diet soft drinks have shown surprising strength, and high protein meal replacements have been positioned as an adjunct to the weight loss drugs. The weight loss apps market is growing strongly. The ranks of commercial weight loss centers have been thinned, and franchising is all but dead as a growth model.

This Marketdata report is a completely updated analysis of the U.S. weight loss market, with a heavy focus on commercial weight loss centers/services – how they have been affected by and are responding to the popular GLP-1 drugs. This is the most comprehensive investigation of the U.S. commercial weight loss market published by anyone worldwide.

Included… dollar value & growth rates of all major commercial weight loss market segments (early 1980s to 2024 and 2025 & 2028 forecasts), latest market trends and company developments, status reports for: diet soft drinks, artificial sweeteners, commercial weight loss centers, multi-level marketing diet plans, retail and MLM meal replacements and weight loss supplements, and low-cal frozen entrees. Analysis of the medical weight loss programs market and competition from MDs, hospitals, medical clinic chains, and telehealth.

The report includes a 35-year revenue analysis of the market through past recessions and fad diet cycles, plus weight loss center franchising, and extensive national/state commercial centers’ operating ratios. Rankings & revenues of top commercial chains, brand sales, and a Reference Directory. Competitor profiles for: Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, Medifast, Herbalife, Noom, MyFitness Pal, Slim-Fast (Glanbia), Simply Good Foods (Atkins Nutritionals), Slimgenics, Profile by Sanford, BeachBody, Metabolic Research, Visalis Life Sciences, Isagenix, Shaklee, AMWAY (Quixtar), and Nu-Skin.

New for this edition:

  • Effects of the soaring GLP-1 drugs market and medical weight loss programs
  • 2023-2024 market performance, 2025 & 2028 Forecasts
  • Rankings/revenues of the leading competitors
  • The franchising slowdown – why retail centers are disappearing


Introduction, Scope, Methodology
Executive Overview
Market definition and segments
Size/growth of the commercial programs & products market: 2020-2028 forecast
Discussion of the shift by dieters to GLP-1 drugs and medical programs
Discussion of the pivot to virtual programs, impact & closures of retail weight loss centers
Analysis of the explosion of the GLP-1 drugs market since 2022: major developments in the medical weight loss market
Size/growth of medical weight loss programs: market segments
Market Segment Status Reports & Outlooks (2025 & 2028 forecasts)
Commercial weight loss centers
Weight loss apps, virtual programs
Retail & multi-level marketing meal replacements & appetite suppressants
Diet Soft Drinks Market
Artificial sweeteners market
The Low-Calorie ("diet") & Low-Carb Foods Market
Tables:
Size of the U.S. Commercial Weight Loss Market: 2020 – 2028 forecast
Size of the U.S. Commercial Weight Loss Market: 2012 – 2019
Value of The U.S. Medical Weight Loss Market: 2018 – 2028 forecast
Revenues of the commercial firm leaders: 20172024
Size of The Weight Loss Apps Market
Meal replacement sales, by major companies: 2020-2024
Estimated U.S. Dollar Sales of Diet Soft Drinks: 2005 – 2028 F
Low-calorie frozen dinners brand sales:2020 2024
Highlights of ALL study chapters contained in the Overview
GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs & Medical Programs: The Competition’s Impact On
Commercial Programs
Summary & analysis of market share/revenues lost by commercial weight loss firms
Major market developments & impacts on commercial programs since 2022
Size & Structure of the medical weight Loss Market
The GLP-1 weight loss drugs market: size, scope, possible headwinds, 2025 outlook, possibility of recession
Medical Weight Loss Clinic Chains & Franchises: as competition for commercial programs
Hospitals: type programs, as competition for commercial programs
Independent physicians, as competition for commercial programs
Tables
Value of The U.S. Medical Weight Loss Market: 2018 – 2028 Forecast
Number of medical clinic chain U.S. Locations, by company
Commercial Weight Loss Centers
Summary & analysis: Effects of the GLP-1 drugs boom, center closures
List & Discussion of all major developments of 2023-2024 (actions of Weight Watchers, Medifast, Profile Plan, increased competition, etc.)
List of major market trends
Weight Watchers status report
Medifast status report
2025 & 2028 Marketdata forecast, positive/negative factors affecting growth to 2028
Average Sales Per weight loss center
Average Costs of weight loss Programs, by type
The importance of good counselors, discussion
Census survey data: major operating metrics of commercial weight loss services
Historical growth/contraction cycles of commercial centers, discussion
Commercial centers Franchising: why it’s more difficult, use as growth strategy, investment costs, profiles of Wt. Watchers, Jenny Craig franchises, why franchising is less viable today.
Tables:
Number of commercial weight loss services nationwide: 1991-2025
No. of center locations/meeting sites, by company: 2014-2024
Revenues of the leading commercial chains: 2003-2024
Historical table of segment revenues/growth from 1989-2028 F
Census Bureau snapshot of the industry: 2007, 2012, 2017, 2022 key ratios, statistics
Sample Income Statement of a typical commercial weight loss center
Weight Control Services, by Sales Volume – 2025
Industry Structure & Key Ratios (Census Data)
2022, 2017, 2012, 2007 industry snapshots for commercial diet centers: no. of establishments, legal form of firms, top 50 firms mkt. share, ratios by firm’s receipts, top states
Avg. revenues per co.-owned/franchised center for Jenny Craig & LA Weight Loss
Avg. costs to acquire new customers
Census Bureau Operating Ratios: 2022, 2017, 2012, 2007 (Commercial diet centers/services) (no. of estabs., firms, receipts, receipts per estab., payroll as % sales, etc.)
Tables
Industry snapshot: no. of estabs., receipts, avg. per estab. & employee, payroll as % sales, etc.
Employee sales/payroll productivity
Establishments, by legal form (corporations, partnerships, sole proprietors)
Market share for largest 4, 8, 20, 50 firms
Ratios, by single vs. multi-unit firms
Ratios, by receipts size of firms & establishments
No. of commercial weight loss centers, estd. receipts, by state: 2022
No. of commercial weight loss centers, by state & region: 2020
Weight loss services, ranked by estd. receipts: 2022
Company profiles: in-depth company history, current status, how programs work, costs, franchise systems, 2019-2024 revenues, new programs, strategies, address/website):
Weight Watchers International
Jenny Craig
NutriSystem
Medifast
Metabolic Research Centers
Profile by Sanford (defunct)
Slimgenics
BODI (The Beachbody Co.)
Retail Meal Replacements & Appetite Suppressants Market
Definition/nature of meal replacements vs. over-the-counter (retail) weight loss supplements
History/nature of mkt.cyclical shifts from mid-1980s
Market trends and key drivers
Current Trends: Effects of the GLP-1 drugs boom
Key distribution channels (MLM, retail, internet, healthcare pros)
Scrutiny of OTC appetite suppressants
Analysis of the market by Nutrition Business Journal
2023-2024 market performance: revenues of leading retail & MLM firms (Atkins, Herbalife, Slim-Fast, Premier Protein)
2025 & 2028 forecasts
User demographics: no. and % of dieters using diet pills and meal replacements
Why long-term outlook is stronger for meal replacements, preferred by MDs, MLMs, commercial chains, why retail diet pills mkt. still struggles, possible FTC actions
List of the major meal replacement competitors
NBJ estimates of diet pill & meal replacements $ and % sales, by distribution channels, discussion of multilevel firms (Advocare, Shaklee, Herbalife, Quixtar, Nu-Skin)
Marketdata estimates of growth for diet pills & meal replacements 2025-2028 F, demand factors.
Tables:
Marketdata estimates of retail diet pills, meal replacements, combined sales 1981-2028 F
Meal Replacement Sales, by major companies: 2020-2024
Top retail diet pill brand sales, 2011-2015
U.S. Sports Nutrition & Weight-Loss $ Market Sales, by channel
Top MLM & retail companies’ sales of meal replacements: 2022 & 2024.
Company profiles: (estd. or actual 2024 revenues, strategies, product lines, marketing)
Slim-Fast (Glanbia)
Herbalife
Visalis Life Sciences
Isagenix
Shaklee
AMWAY (Quixtar)
Nu-Skin
The Weight Loss Apps Market
Discussion/analysis of weight loss apps market, major competitors, mkt. size
Market Size & structure, key metrics (users, downloads, revenues)
Company Profiles: Noom, My Fitness Pal
Tables:
Size of The Weight Loss Apps Market: 2020-2028 F
The Diet Soft Drinks Market
Status Report: why diet soda sales have rebounded lately, effect of the GLP-1s boom on
consumption
Diet soft drinks as % total soft drinks, mkt. nature and historical growth, forecasts, demographics
of consumers, diet’s share of all carbonated soft drinks (Beverage Industry, Beverage Digest),
Market trends: rise of zero sugar sodas, Dr. Pepper surpasses Pepsi
Table:
Demographics of diet soft drink consumers, historical nature of the market.
1989-2028 F diet soft drink $ sales
Total soft drink retail $ sales, diet share of gallons/retail sales: 1989-2024, 2025 & 2028 forecast
The Artificial Sweeteners Market
Status Report of the mkt., new high intensity sweeteners emerging, Stevia, Sucralose,
Splenda, consumer trend to avoid artificial ingredients, data from Calorie Control Council
regarding use by consumers
Sweeteners by end use (% for soft drinks vs. tabletop sweeteners mkt.)
Description of major types (Aspartame, Neotame, Saccharin, Sucralose, Stevia, Acesulfame)
Market size & growth: 2022-2024, historical sales 1991-2024 performance, 2028 forecast
Table:
Estimated U.S. sales of artificial sweeteners:1991-2028 F
Low-cal Frozen Diet Entrees & Low-calorie Foods Market207-215
Mkt. Status Report, definition of “diet” foods, discussion of dinner entrees, the major brands,
actions by food industry to spur sales
Actions taken by producers to revitalize sales, packaging, new formulations, etc.
Outlook and sales estim. for 2023-2024, $ volume for Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, Healthy
Choice
Low-carb foods mkt. size estimates.
Company Profile: Atkins Nutritionals (Simply Good Foods)
Table:
Market size estimates for 1994 to 2028 F
Low-calorie frozen dinners sales, by brand: 2020, 2022, 2024
Reference Directory of Weight Loss Information Sources215-220
Industry & government trade associations, journals, newsletters, magazines, consultants

Download our eBook: How to Succeed Using Market Research

Learn how to effectively navigate the market research process to help guide your organization on the journey to success.

Download eBook
Cookie Settings