 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FAD DIETS BIGGEST LOSERS IN 2006
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NEW YORK, Jan. 4, 2006 — Losing weight and getting in shape are among the most popular New Year's resolutions, and as seen in previous years, the Internet continues to play a pivotal role in providing guidance for what may prove to be another short-lived commitment to slimming down and shaping up. According to Hitwise, the world's leading online competitive intelligence service, visits to the Hitwise Health and Medical - Wellbeing category, which contains diet, health and fitness sites, increased by 8 percent in the final week of 2005 compared to the final week of 2004 (week ending Dec. 31, 2005 versus week ending Jan. 1, 2005). Sites showing the biggest increases in market share during that period were Spark People (www.sparkpeople.com), up 148 percent; Nutrisystem (www.nutrisystem.com), up 130 percent; and Jenny Craig (www.jennycraig.com), up 40 percent. Visits to The Biggest Loser Club (www.biggestloserclub.com), which debuted late in 2005, increased by 69 percent for the week ending Dec. 31, 2005 versus the previous week (week ending Dec. 24, 2005). Hitwise Search Intelligence data suggest that in comparison to last year, this year's dieters are less focused on fad diets and are interested in a more scientific, balanced approach to dieting and fitness, as seen in the NBC reality TV show "The Biggest Loser". The share of Internet searches for "glycemic index", "body mass index" and "weight training" were up 161%, 67%, and 61% respectively, for the week ending Dec. 31, 2005 versus the week ending Jan. 1, 2005. In the same time period, searches for "atkins diet" and "south beach diet" were down by 12% and 36% respectively. Searches for "biggest loser" increased by 227% when comparing the final week of the season two show versus the final week of season one (week ending Dec. 3, 2005 versus week ending Jan. 15, 2005). "Internet visit and search data appear to show a shift in dieting philosophy" said Bill Tancer, General Manager of Research at Hitwise. "Our data is indicating that low-carb / no-carb diets are falling out of favor, as Internet users appear to be researching exercise and common sense nutrition." 
The market share of visits to industry leading site Weight Watchers (www.weightwatchers.com) reveals that during 2005, the lowest percentage of visits to the site, based on all Internet visits occurs during the weeks surrounding Thanksgiving Day, while the highest market share of visits was a short-lived phenomenon lasting only the first week of the year. "Online dieting sites shed light on the staying power of our New Year's resolutions" said Tancer. "Hopefully with the shift in dieting trends, we'll see more steadfast health and fitness goals in 2006." |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weekly Holiday Shopping Tracker: Data period: week ending December 31, 2005
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
*Does not include stand-alone visits to other eBay sites (eBay Motors, eBay Stores) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contact: For media inquiries or to schedule an analyst interview, please contact Lizzie Babarczy: press@hitwise.com (212) 380 2910. About Hitwise: Hitwise is the world's leading online competitive intelligence service. Each day, Hitwise monitors how more than 25 million Internet users interact with over 500,000 websites across 160 industry categories. By monitoring more people, more websites, more often, Hitwise provides marketers with timely and actionable marketing insights on how their online presence compares to competitive websites. Companies use this information to maximize the return on their online investment, in efforts such as search marketing, affiliate programs, online advertising, visitor segmentation, content development and lead generation. Hitwise collects Internet usage information via a combination of ISP data partnerships and opt-in mega panels, and complies with local and international privacy legislation as audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Founded in 1997, Hitwise is a privately held company, headquartered in New York City and operates in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore. More information about Hitwise is available at www.hitwise.com. For up to date analysis on online trends, please visit the Hitwise Intelligence Analyst Weblogs at http://weblogs.hitwise.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
-END- |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||