On the heels of Weight Watchers’ recent bankruptcy filing, the conversation around the future of the weight loss industry has intensified. While many point to the rise of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic as the primary disruptor, Sami Inkinen, co-founder and CEO of Virta Health, argues that the real story is more fundamental. He contends that the “eat less, exercise more” model, central to programs like Weight Watchers for decades, was always doomed to fail because it doesn’t address the underlying biology of metabolic health. In this Q&A, we sat down with Sami to discuss why he believes willpower is no match for biology, the critical role of nutrition in quieting “food noise,” and his vision for the future of effective and sustainable weight management.
Beyond the immediate Weight Watchers bankruptcy headlines, you argue that GLP-1s like Ozempic didn’t solely cause WW’s downfall. Can you elaborate on the fundamental flaws you believe existed in WW’s core “diet” model that made it vulnerable long before the rise of GLP-1s?
Sami Inkinen, co-founder and CEO of Virta Health: Obviously the huge debt load forced Weight Watchers into bankruptcy, not GLP-1s or anything else. That said, the fundamental business problem that Weight Watchers has always had is that their program doesn’t work. A calorie or point counting system and “eat less and exercise more” method has never worked to deliver sustained weight loss on average. Relying on willpower only works for some people, and it hardly lasts forever. Weight Watchers has always cycled members in and out, which is sort of their business model. The program was already failing, and the success of GLP-1s highlighted its weaknesses, causing people to leave the program for what they saw as a more effective solution – the drugs.
You stated that WW’s model never delivered sustained weight loss in the first place. What specific aspects of their points-based or calorie-focused systems do you believe contributed to this lack of long-term success for many users?
Sami Inkinen: We now have 3-4 decades of empirical evidence that telling people to “eat less, count calories” does not work to solve obesity. All we have is more obese people, while everyone has heard the “just eat less.” Obesity is a metabolic disease where you can experience persistent hunger and crave for more food, even while consuming what would be considered too many calories. That has to be addressed on a root cause level,either through targeted nutritional interventions that impact these underlying mechanisms or through appropriate medications, but it’s not about restricting calories.
WW eventually incorporated GLP-1 prescriptions into its offerings. You’ve characterized this as a “hail mary” reactive approach. From your perspective, what would a more fundamentally sound, proactive shift have looked like for WW to address its core nutritional model, even in the face of GLP-1 market pressures?
Sami Inkinen: It would have required both rethinking care delivery and support as well as how to use nutrition to reverse metabolic disease. This is why I co-founded Virta Health in 2015 with a group of scientists. I wasn’t able to convince anyone to rebuild and rethink how to deliver sustained weight loss nutritionally. It’s not a simple punchline, but you can look at what we’ve built at Virta over a decade and the results we’ve delivered.
What broader lessons should the weight loss and wellness industry take away from WW’s trajectory and current situation, particularly regarding program efficacy, business models, and adapting to new scientific advancements?
Sami Inkinen: First, there’s a difference between “making profits” and a “product that works” in the weight loss space. The former can work for some period of time, but unless you have a product that works, it’s hard to make it sustainable. It’s also a very dynamic space given the magnitude of the problem and the plethora of solutions that don’t work, so anyone operating in this space has to stay on their toes. But the lesson is to commit to finding the product that works, and let science get you there.
You contend that nutrition programs based on “eat less, exercise more” and calorie counting are “doomed to fail on average.” Could you break down the physiological and psychological reasons why willpower eventually runs out if underlying metabolic health, hunger, and cravings aren’t addressed?
Sami Inkinen: Ultimately everything is biology, including willpower. If you don’t change the biology, you can’t solve the problem of over-eating. Obviously there are psychological reasons why somebody might go to eat food for comfort, but the solution always starts from solving the biology. This is also why the GLP-1s work for delivering weight loss: hunger, cravings, and food-noise just disappear. That same can be achieved with nutrition, as we have shown at Virta.
Virta Health focuses on “metabolic health.” For a lay audience, how would you define robust metabolic health, and what are the most critical levers to improve it, based on Virta’s research?
Sami Inkinen: Robust metabolic health is the state when your body and your biology function as it’s supposed to. Clinically, it typically means that you’re effortlessly normal weight, and you have blood sugar, lipids, blood pressure and inflammation in normal range. While many factors contribute to metabolic health, the #1 driver is nutrition. Other things like sleep and exercise and movement are obviously also contributors.
Can you discuss the concept of “food noise” or cravings? How does Virta’s nutrition-first approach specifically aim to quiet this, and why is that essential for sustainable change?
Sami Inkinen: Solving metabolic disease and obesity starts from biology. Similar to GLP-1s, we can nutritionally minimize food noise, unnecessary hunger and cravings by individualizing our recommendations. If you don’t fix the biology, sustainable change is going to be impossible.
Looking ahead, what is your forward-looking perspective on the most effective and sustainable path for weight management in a world where GLP-1s are prevalent? What does an ideal integrated model look like?
Sami Inkinen: It’s a combination of nutrition and pharmaceuticals — evidence-based lifestyle treatments and medications like GLP-1s. Most people can succeed with the former alone, but some need the latter too. To deliver“evidence-based lifestyle treatments, you also need the right care delivery and support, of course.
About Sami Inkinen
Sami Inkinen is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Virta Health, the leader in diabetes reversal and sustainable weight loss. With a combination of proven nutrition, expert support, and advanced technology, Virta empowers members with the tools and knowledge to sustain changes for a longer, healthier life.
A data-driven technology entrepreneur, Sami’s personal experience with diabetes and passion to advance global health was the motivation behind Virta. Working with over 500 large employers, health plans, and government organizations across the country, Virta has helped over 100,000 members reverse their diabetes and obesity.
Previously, Sami was co-founder of leading online real estate marketplace Trulia, serving as its COO, president, and board member until its IPO and eventual sale to Zillow Group, and held roles at Microsoft and McKinsey & Company. He also founded Fat Chance Row to raise awareness of the dangers of sugar and its connection to diabetes, rowing from California to Hawaii — 2,750 miles — with his wife, completely unsupported.
