Katie Sturino, a body acceptance advocate, recently received a personal apology from the CEO of WeightWatchers. It happened after Oprah Winfrey’s TV special about weight-loss drugs, when Sturino called out WW CEO Sima Sistani on social media for not apologizing on behalf of the company during the program “for all the toxic things (it) put into diet culture.” Sistani then replied on Instagram, saying “Katie, I want you to know I am sorry,” and adding, “Part of that is acknowledging the past where we played any part in the shame that people carry with them.”
In a statement to TODAY.com, Sistani said: “I have recently become aware of how deeply we impacted some people as a result of the experience they had with our company throughout its 60 years in business. To those individuals who felt shame, we see you and we hear you. We are committed to actively collaborating with others to ensure we have an inclusive future ahead. We welcome a conversation with voices of the community like Katie.”
Sturino, 43, who lives in New York City, tells TODAY.com what the apology meant to her.
I was on WeightWatchers many times, probably starting in my early 20s. I lost weight, but every pound that I lost on WeightWatchers, I gained back and then some.
Many of the people who have messaged me about their own experience with WeightWatchers say that they started the program as children heading into these meetings with full-grown women who were talking about the anxiety of having big holidays come up. These are things that adults are talking about — there shouldn’t have been kids in the room.
Looking back at their photos, many people say that they were not even severely overweight.
The WW program changed over the years from “only eat these foods” to the point system. Then it was no points. People may have disordered eating. They’re dealing with deeper issues through a point system that doesn’t address the mental part and the eating disordered part of the way that we…
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