As the waistline grows, so does the bank balance of the weight loss industry. By 2007 spending in the US on weight loss products and services will hit $157.6 billion, up from $100 billion in 2002.
According to a new report from Business Communications Company (BCC) the low calorie food and beverage segments differ considerably from other segments of the market. These segments - the two largest - possess the characteristic of containing ingredients of products that offer long-term benefits for weight loss and maintenance.
The low calorie food market, although the largest segment, has seen slow growth due to somewhat poor taste qualities of fat and sweetener replacements, claims the report. But greater investment in R&D and product improvement should result in increased product acceptance. In addition, sweeteners, and to a certain extent, fat replacements have grown despite significant questions and rumours about their safety, writes the report, anticipating this segment to grow rapidly up to 2007.
Low calorie beverages - the second largest segment - is also set to grow boosted by the continued improvement in taste quality of artificial sweeteners.
The second major factor has been, and will continue to be, the exceptional growth of non-carbonated beverages, including refreshment, sports, energy and nutraceutical products. The two major beverage companies have joined in this movement and they will continue. A significant portion of these products will likely use artificial sweeteners.
Supplements are the third largest product/service segment, after low calorie foods and low calorie beverages. They cover several diverse sub-segments that are likely to produce quite different future sales patterns, writes BCC. Predicting that this segment is likely to produce major growth through 2007.
The pharmaceutical category has had a difficult times in the weight-loss arena. In the past, several promising products developed harmful side effects, which ultimately resulted in their withdrawal from the market.
Only two products - Zenical and Meridia - are currently prescribed in any volume for overweight and obesity. However, science experts do not anticipate that one new product will prove to be a cure-all for the disease. The processes of hunger, digestion, satiety and energy balance in the human body have proven to be highly complex. This, in turn, is resulting in major difficulty in providing effective medications, writes BCC.
In 2002, there were an estimated 300 million obese persons in the world. Of this total, 82 per cent or 245 million, were outside of the US but world penetration of obesity stood at 5 per cent in 2002, compared to US penetration of 26 per cent. The global market for weight loss products and services hit $240 billion in 2002.