Weighing in on Weight Control

Whether attempting to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, most consumers have some sort of weight issue on their minds. As A. Elizabeth Sloan reported in her January 2005 Consumer Trends column in Food Technology, 41% of consumers are trying to lose weight for health reasons and 46% for appearance, and 74% are trying to prevent gaining any more weight.

Retail sales of weight-loss products in the United States increased by a total of almost 90% and posted a compound annual growth rate of 17…