Global weight loss and maintenance company WeightWatchers is preparing to file for bankruptcy due to financial struggles associated with the increased popularity of weight loss drugs.

Due to declining sales and struggles to stand out in the weight loss and management industry, the company is preparing to file for bankruptcy. It aims to allow itself to restructure its finances to continue operations in the future.

The weight loss industry has changed significantly over the past few years. The popularity of weight loss drugs like Ozempic skyrocketed as individuals looked for faster ways of losing weight. In other words, the use of services that promote healthy dieting, healthy eating and exercising are no longer the norm.

This trend toward medication-assisted weight loss threatened the company’s durability and sales. WeightWatchers was known to offer dieting programs, fitness and mindset services that met a client’s specific needs.

According to a financial report from 2024, WeightWatchers’ debt totaled $1.48 billion. Additionally, the company earned $786 million in revenue, which was less than the $1.84 billion in revenue it made at its peak in 2012.

WeightWatchers’ decline is also explained by the lack of effectiveness of its weight loss programs.

According to Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, this ideology is flawed.

Weight loss drugs like Ozempic, GLP-1 or Mounjaro do not require people to “eat less and exercise more,” Spector told The Guardian. Instead, these drugs emphasize the importance of appetite.

People have been using the company’s services for an extended amount of time to help them restrict their diets, but they failed to achieve their weight loss goals.

“Until you’ve dealt with the problem, which is the appetite signal… that ‘eat less, exercise more’ approach was just doomed to fail,” Spector said. “It’s just a reality that GLP-1 drugs are so much better for people who have been suffering for a long time.”