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‘Oprah Effect’ Should Promote Plant-Based Diet
The “Oprah effect” has raised the profile of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite products, books, and people. And it may now lead millions of her fans to Weight Watchers—which she has recently bought a stake in. I hope that Ms. Winfrey, who knows the benefits of a vegan diet, will use her new partnership to create a program—like our 21-Day Vegan Kickstart—geared toward plant-based nutrition.
The “Oprah effect” has raised the profile of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite products, books, and people. And it may now lead millions of her fans to Weight Watchers—which she has recently bought a stake in. I hope that Ms. Winfrey, who knows the benefits of a vegan diet, will use her new partnership to create a program—like our 21-Day Vegan Kickstart—geared toward plant-based nutrition.
Promoting the company’s existing plant-based resources is just what Weight Watchers president and CEO Jim Chambers needs to do to kickstart the company’s shift “from focusing on weight loss alone to more broadly helping people lead a healthier, happier life.”
Ms. Winfrey did just this when she tried a vegan diet a few years ago. She wrote, “I'm eating a far more plant-based diet. Less processed food. Thinking … not in terms of calories but in terms of what happens to my well-being.”
That is the beauty of a low-fat, vegan diet: Greater overall well-being without thinking about counting calories or portion sizes. My colleagues and I have designed clinical trials to prove it.
In a plant-based dietary intervention we conducted with employees from the GEICO insurance company, study participants not only lost an average of 10 pounds, lowered LDL “bad” cholesterol by 13 points, and improved blood sugar control, if they had type 2 diabetes. They also reported alleviating symptoms of anxiety, depression, and fatigue.
They achieved this on a vegan diet that included vegetable hummus sandwiches, seasonal leafy green salads, black bean chili, and healthful carbohydrate-rich foods such as brown rice, steel cut oats, and rye bread. There were no limits on calories or portion sizes.
Findings from studies like ours are so conclusive that they are even influencing the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to endorse the “Healthy Vegetarian Pattern” later this year. So now would be a wise time for Weight Watchers and Ms. Winfrey to create a plant-based program to help clients put this eating pattern into action.
