Alicia Romano
07/24/09
Case Study Paper- Web Strategies for Health Communication
Online Diet and Fitness Websites
The Web has become a popular and in-demand platform for diet and fitness websites,
weight loss support groups, food and exercise journals etc. With the fast pace environment and
chaotic schedules that people experience today, the web provides a quick and easy way to access
information and tools to assist in weight loss and healthy lifestyle programs. Currently, there are
hundreds of different weight loss organizations on the web that offer meal plans, meal delivery
systems, fitness advice, nutrition databases. During the past year of my experience as a dietetic
intern, I have come in frequent contact with SparkPeople.com and FitDay.com, two online diet
and fitness journals aimed at assisting people in their weight loss and health behavior change
goals. WeightWatchers is a weight loss organization that has been around for over 40 years, and
just in the past 9 years developed a web-based platform and online portion of their organization.
Due to the demand regarding information on these sites within the dietetics profession, I have
chosen to do my case study on these three online diet and fitness related websites.
SparkPeople.com Case Study
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SparkPeople.com (http://www.sparkpeople.com) is a free, personalized online diet and
fitness journal aimed at assisting people to lose weight and adopt healthy lifestyle habits. It is a
for-profit organization consisting of about 25 full time and 10 part-time staff involved in web
strategy, design, implementation and marketing. The well known mission statement of
SparkPeople is “To spark millions of people to achieve their goals and lead healthier lives. We
offer nutrition, health, and fitness tools, support, and resources that are 100% free, while other
sites like Weight Watchers and eDiets.com charge their members for similar services.” The web
is the primary tool that SparkPeople uses to achieve this mission, although other platforms (print
and mobile) are in the process of being enhanced and launched to assist in achieving their
mission.
The web strategy utilizes many avenues to achieve their mission. First of all, the services
provided by SparkPeople.com are completely free, and just requires registration. Once a user
registers, SparkPeople allows users to individualize their plan and customize how they would
like to use the site. This includes entering your height and weight as well as diet, fitness, and
weight goals. If weight loss is not a priority of the user, the site resources can be customized to
focus on healthy lifestyle and behavior changes. Once basic information is calories to consumer
per day, as well as micronutrient breakdowns and sample meals plans are created for the user.
Users can customize diet and fitness preferences, can join Spark Teams (for added support), join
in on Discussion Forums, email other members for encouragement and support within the site
(SparkMail), etc. Discussion forums are structured and organized by specific topics.
SparkPeople allows members to track their diet and exercise daily, and view reports of their
personal progress. There is a large database of foods (including commercial products and
restaurant options) and exercises, making it easy for users to successfully track their day. In
addition, SparkPeople sends out the Weekly Spark e-newsletter that includes tips for success,
support and encouragement for members. The newsletters include diet and fitness tips to keep
members motivated to make their changes. The website also includes cooking and fitness demo
videos for users to reference. In addition to SparkPeople.com, there are extension websites
including BabyFit.com (customized for pregnant and lactating women to meet their needs),
TeenSpark.com (SparkPeople specifically aimed at teenagers), and RecipeSpark.com (a recipe
database for SparkPeople members). SparkPeople.com also has an internal blog,
DailySpark.com, which allows members to blog about their experiences with SparkPeople, share
personal success stories or struggles, and connects with other members. In addition to the
internal blog, there are many external blog postings and reports on SparkPeople. A list of current
external blog postings can be found on the SparkPeople website.
(http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal.asp?id=SPARKPEOPLEPR)
SparkPeople uses many other ways, besides the web, to reach people including a mobile
sight, iPhone Application, Fitness DVD’s for purchase and print platforms (including a major
book coming out at the end of December and potential for magazine). SparkPeople
acknowledges that further enhancements to mobile applications and print media are needed to
address the demands of users.
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SparkPeople.com uses an ASP technology platform for the website. Additionally, social
media components are also used to enhance the marketing, awareness, support services, and
usability of SparkPeople. This includes both Facebook and Twitter pages and a YouTube page
that includes all of the demo videos.
SparkPeople utilizes many feedback mechanisms in order to constantly enhance their
website as well as other communication platforms. Surveys, questionnaires and questions posed
to the community, as well as utilization of Twittter and Facebook for feedback are some of the
ways they gather their user’s concerns and comments about the site. Almost every week,
SparkPeople is adding new features and enhancing different platforms. Since the initial launch
in 2001- SparkPeople started as a web-based technology company- the web presence of
SparkPeople has evolved drastically (tools, features and business model). Since user feedback
results in weekly web enhancements, SparkPeople does not have a clear roadmap for future web
enhancements. As a result of SparkPeople’s web presence, thousands of people have been
reached and assisted in weight loss, fitness, and healthy-life enhancements
(http://www.sparkpeople.com/about/stats.asp for more specific information).
The following is a SWOT analysis of SparkPeople.com based on their web presence and other
platforms.
• Strengths
• Opportunities
• FREE (largest free online diet/fitness website)
• Ask the experts section
• Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
• LinkedIn page
• IPHONE and Mobile Applications
• Enhance mobile platforms (biggest
• Blogs – internal and external
piece that hasn’t bee provided)
• Additional print platforms
• Daily newsletter (email)
• Podcasts
• Site customized by participant (meal plan and site)
• Spark mail (mail within site)
• Constantly launching enhancements based on
feedback
• Feedback (questionnaires, polls, blogs, etc)
• Fitness DVDs for purchase
• Reaches wide audience (Lifestyle centers, extension
websites)
• Statistics listed on web (# of people’s lives affected)
• Weaknesses
• Threats
• No where to pose direct nutrition/fitness questions
• other free nutrition/fitness trackers
except message board
• Weight loss programs with
• No roadmap for future enhancements (constantly
groups/meal delivery services
enhancing based on feedback)
Website too cluttered/too much?
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FitDay.com Case Study
FitDay.com (http://www.fitday.com) is an online diet journal that includes free website
access, a Premium Membership Website (fee-based), and a PC application. It is a for-profit
organization and the web strategy, design, and implementation was all built by the two original
founders. Recently 10 additional staff members have been employed to assist with web
enhancements, testing usability, marketing, and implementation of new innovations/features.
There is not a clear mission on the organization’s website, however, the founder quoted that the
mission of Fit Day is “to give people tools that will help them live a healthy and fit life.” Fit Day
makes a point to not promote themselves as a nutrition information resource, instead, they are a
tool and “diet agnostic” for people that are looking to track changes in their diet and exercise
regime.
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The Free Fit Day online account includes daily calorie counts, carbohydrate/protein/fat
breakdown of recorded foods, weight loss goal setting, detailed nutrition for thousands of foods,
long term diet analysis and statistics, etc. The main difference between the free online account
and the Premium Membership is the absence of advertising, custom tracking, advanced reports
(to learn more about nutrition/fitness), and synchronization with the PC application on the
Premium membership.
Fit Day is a web-based company that is currently working on launching other platforms.
The web strategy is as straight forward as the mission- Fit Day provides the tools that users can
use to assist in their diet, fitness, and weight loss efforts. In addition to the Web, Fit Day has a
PC application that people can utilize offline. They have also collaborated with major magazines
such as Prevention Magazine and Allergan.
The technology platform is primarily open source including Linux and MySQL combined
with a propriety web application platform. They also use many other sites including Google for
advertising purchasing and ad placement on FitDay. FitDay does not currently use any types of
social media (Facebook, Twitter, Linked in), but reports to monitor such social sites for
feedback.
The feedback mechanisms for FitDay are not very structured, and include only site
surveys. There is a “Contact Us” email address that allows users to send feedback and
troubleshooting, and for the paid membership, there is an 800 number for further questions or
feedback. Additionally, FitDay relies on relevant newsgroup reporting and blog posts to get
feedback from the community to make enhancements. FitDay is constantly making incremental
enhancements to the site, and therefore does not have a specific roadmap for their web
enhancements. The main site was launched in 2001 followed by incremental enhancements and
then site redesign in 2005. There was a major new functionality release in 2008. FitDay does
plan to launch a professional version of the site later this year for clinicians to use with their
clients. Currently, features that are missing from FitDay that users are demanding are related to
diet advice and nutrition information as well as some sort of support system. However, FitDay
sticks to the ideal that they are a nutritional tool alone and as such, has remained a “diet
agnostic.”
As of 2008, there were 4.7 million registered users and approximately 25 million unique
site visitors. As a result of the web presence, FitDay has helped millions of people better
understand the major aspects of their fitness and health. By providing factual information and
quality nutrition data, they have become one of the most trusted nutrition resources on the web.
As a response, there have been thousands of web pages about FitDay, dozens of Twitter and blog
posts every day. Additionally, FitDay has been featured in almost every major health magazine
and newspaper including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Fitness, Prevention,
Women’s Health, etc. Representatives from FitDay have also appeared on many major news
shows and have done interviews for many radio broadcasts.
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The following is a SWOT analysis of FitDay.com based on their web presence and other
platforms.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Strengths
FREE component
Simple and straightforward (a useful
tool)
Does not make contradictory claims
(considers itself a “diet agnostic”, does
not offer nutrition advice)
Collaboration with fitness and health
magazine (Prevention, Allergen)
Weaknesses
No social media
No internal blog (only external blogs,
websites and comments on social media)
Lack of feedback tools for enhancements
Mobile platform
No support system
WeightWatchers.com Case Study
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Opportunities
Launch social media applicationsFacebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
Mobile applications
Professional version for clinicians
(launched later this year)
Internal Blog
Structured Discussion board/support
forum
Threats
Other free and fee based nutrition and
fitness trackers
Nutrition/Fitness trackers with support
systems and social media
Alicia Romano
07/24/09
Weightwatchers.com (http://www.weightwatchers.com) is a for-profit organization that
has sprung from the popular weight loss program and community Weight Watchers. Weight
Watchers, as an organization, has been around for over 40 years. The site and discussion forum
were started in 1999/2000 as a means to use the internet to reach more people. Information on
the number of staff involved in web strategy, design, implementation, usability and marketing
was not provided. The website provides resources for all Weight Watchers members, whether
they attend groups or follow the program online. For members that pursue the Weight Watchers
program online, members have access to their plan information online; have access to food and
exercise choices, thousands of recipes and workout demonstrations. In addition, the online plan
allows members to assess their food and exercise habits, monitor their weight, and receive
personalized goals based on weight and health. Overall, the goal of the online Weight Watchers
program is to allow members to follow their plan online at their own pace on their own time,
making it easy for users to stay connected. It is a for-profit organization that is passionate about
helping people lose weight
The website was created to specifically target a larger audience to achieve part of the
Weight Watchers mission to bring “safe, scientific weight management resources and tools to the
internet” creating a powerful connection. The web strategy includes a free newsletter (anyone
can sign up for, even non-members) that offers diet and fitness advice as well as recipes. In
addition, there is a monitored and segmented discussion forum on the site. Users must register to
read the forum and then pay the membership fee to contribute their discussion points to the
forum. Success stories are also a part of the web strategy; however, they are carefully monitored
and chosen. In order to be considered for a success story, a proof is needed as well as a healthy
rate of weight loss. The “story participant” is then flown to NY for a video interview and
makeover as a treat, and then the final success story is professionally written by Weight
Watchers.
In addition to the web, Weight Watchers has other avenues of reaching people including
the traditional Weight Watchers meetings, email newsletters, Weight Watchers Magazine,
products (mostly foods), advertising both online and on television, mobile applications, and
videos. In addition, Weight Watchers has a group on Facebook as well as a Twitter page. The
Facebook page is much more organized and put together than the Twitter page, which needs
improvements. Weight Watchers uses these social media platforms as a means of feedback from
the community on the program and WeightWatchers.com. In addition to social media, Weight
Watchers has a thorough feedback mechanism including focus groups, persona development,
usability testing, tracking subscribers and satisfaction surveys in order to make enhancements
and innovations to the website. Weight Watchers is constantly tracking competition, especially
Jenny Craig, Nike.com (activity tracker), Biggest Losers (and JillianMichaels.com),
CalorieKing.com, Diet.com, WebMD.com, and eDiets.com. WeightWatchers.com also has an
area that posts members blogs about their experience
(http://community.weightwatchers.com/Blogs/Blogs.aspx) . In addition, there are numerous
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blogs on the internet in general that are about individual journeys on WeightWatchers (ex.
http://thewwchick.blogspot.com/, http://en.wordpress.com/tag/weight-watchers)
Since the initial launch, WeightWatchers.com has evolved including a recent overhaul
from html to RIA and a great number of Web 2.0 features. With enhancements and website
development, WeightWatchers.com created a more forward, current and edgy design to the
website to appeal to users. The launch of WeightWatchers.com began as a means to reach more
people through the internet, and provide current and future members with easier access to
science-based, reliable nutrition information and support systems. WeightWatchers.com plans to
continue to use the web-based platform and using feedback to constantly make enhancements,
add new features and innovations, and target even more potential users. Currently,
WeightWatchers.com is in the midst of launching a Community (Beta) application on their
website. This is essentially an extension of the discussion forum for members of
WeightWatchers to connect. As a result of their web presence, WeightWatchers.com has won
awards for their website and online weight loss program and has continued to remain a
competitive organization for other weight loss programs.
The following is a SWOT analysis of WeightWatchers.com based on their web presence and other
platforms.
• Strengths
• Opportunities
• Already well established/known in the
• LinkedIn
diet/fitness world
• Use Twitter more seriously- draw more
• Facebook
people into their site
• Twitter
• Utilize YouTube to broadcast any free
video demos
• Blogs- internal and external
• Focus on more specific populations/needs
• Newsletter (email)
(Pregnant/lactating women, teens?)
• Print media
• Discussion Forums (carefully segmented and
monitored)
• Mobile application
• Efficient feedback gathering: focus groups,
personas, usability testing, track subscribers,
satisfaction surveys, track competition
• Advertisements on TV and web
• Online for Men segment
• Weaknesses
• Threats
• No free “services” online or trial offers
• Free nutrition and fitness trackers
• Targets adults audience (women and men; no
• Registered Dietitian private practices
services targeted towards teens)
• Meal-delivery-based programs
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Comparison of Web Approaches
There are similarities and differences among the web presence of the different diet and
fitness websites reviewed above. The table below is a quick overview of the different strategies
and platforms that the 3 organizations use to enhance their web presence.
As can be seen above, SparkPeople and WeightWatchers use very similar strategies for
their web presence including an internal blog, weekly e-newsletter, structured discussion forum,
social medial (Facebook and Twitter), video capabilities and demos, mobile applicaions and
nutrition resources. SparkPeople is the only one of the three that uses YouTube as another
medium, while WeightWatchers.com has online and phone consultations available. Both
SparkPeople.com and WeightWatchers.com use the Facebook application very effectively,
whereas there is a lot of room for improvement for WeightWatchers.com’s use of Twitter. It is
apparanat that the web strategy for FitDay.com is very different from SparkPeople.com and
WeightWatchers.com; however, FitDay.com does not consider itself the same nutrition resource
for diet advice that SparkPeople and WeightWatchers does, and advertises itself more-so as a
nutrition and fitness tool.
SparkPeople.com and WeightWatchers.com are also similar in their means of gathering
feedback. They both rely on their social media as a means of gathering community feedback.
SparkPeople.com also relies on surveys and questionarries to gather information, whereas
WeightWatchers.com is even more extensive, using focus groups, persona development, etc.
FitDay.com does not have the same feedback mechanisms, although they claim to follow social
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media for feedback (they do not have any of their own social media set up). The feedback loop
for FitDay is definietly lacking in comparison to SparkPeople and especially to
WeightWatchers.com.
The availability of resources for user for the 3 organizations also differs.
SparkPeople.com is a completely free resource and requires just simple registration to become a
member in order to use all of the services it provides. FitDay is partially free, if you chose to use
the Free Online Services. They also have a PC application and Premium Membership for a fee,
that allows you to access more specialized charting, reports and goals and some additional
features (with no advertisements). WeightWatchers.com does not offer any free services except
for the weekly e-newsletter. In order to use any of the other WeightWatchers.com services, the
user must register online and then pay the fee depending on how long they are joining.
Looking at the components of each of the organizations, it is clear that each primary aim
and target audience differs. SparkPeople.com has a very strong community and support group
focus. With an abundance of discussion forums, blogs, inter-emails, and support newsletters, as
well as a section dedicated to motivation and support, it is clear that SparkPeople is targeted
towards people that need a strong support system to follow their diet and weight loss plans. In
addition, SparkPeople expands it target personas by the additional sites it links, such as
BabyFit.com, TeenSpark.com, SparkRecipes.com, and DailySpark.com. FitDay.com does not
have any of the same support-style groups or forums as SparkPeople or WeightWatchers.
FitDay is much more straight forward, existing simply as a tool that can be incorporated into
someone’s diet and weight loss efforts. It it not intended for audiences that need a support
system. WeightWatchers.com creates a similar type of support system as SparkPeople.com
including dicussion forums and internal blogs. There is also a separate section dedicated to men,
which targets a larger audience than the typical adults woman that uses WeightWatchers.com.
One major difference between the three organizations is the availability of print
platforms. WeightWatchers has a magazine publication that is available to members or non
members. SparkPeople is currently working on enhancing their print publications, including the
release of a book at the end of December. FitDay does not have any plans to pursue print
publications or platforms.
Recommendations- SparkPeople
Overall, SparkPeople has been very effective in using a wide variety of web-based and
non-web-based platforms to reach a wide audience of users. I would recommend that
SparkPeople continue to pursue social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube,
and maybe consider a LinkedIn account. I would suggest that SparkPeople include links to
Facebook and Twitter on their webpage to make these platforms known and expand their
“friends” or “followers” on such accounts. Social media is a great way to reach a younger
audience.
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One major area of improvement of SparkPeople is that all of the different components of
its web presence may be too much and too overwhelming for users- from the discussion forums
and blogs and weekly emails, spark teams and inter-spark emails- the website is a bit
overwhelming for the new user. Although the user has the ability to pick and chose the
components of SparkPeople that it wants to use, it may be more effective to simplify some of the
content and maybe focus on just a discussion forum or just a blog. In addition, rather than
frequently asked questions section, it may be beneficial to have some sort of point person (such
as a dietitian) that people can specifically address nutrition-related questions to or have some sort
of LiveChat with a health professional that is available during certain hours of the day for
SparkPeople members. SparkPeople should keep same support-centered approach, but
simplifying the way that they create that (maybe focusing on 1-2 ways that create a supportive
environment that wont’ be too overwhelming).
I would encourage SparkPeople to continue to make constant web enhancements and
innovations based upon community feedback and trends in nutrition and fitness. Remaining upto-date with the community demands ensures that users continue to use the sight. Based off of
the feedback, the most important enhancement of this time would be to pursue print platforms
(such as the book coming out at the end of December) as well as enhancing the mobile
applications (create an application specifically for Smartphones). Other mobile applications,
such as a podcast, may be another avenue to consider maintaining their presence off of the web.
Recommendations- FitDay
FitDay.com has a lot of room for improvements with their web presence. While keeping
in mind that FitDay considers itself a weight loss tool and not a source of nutrition data
distribution, it would be very beneficial for FitDay to utilize social media platforms. Currently,
FitDay does not utilize any of these platforms. Facebook and Twitter would probably be the
most beneficial sites that FitDay can begin to use. This would be a great way to gather feedback
from the community, communicate any new updates that are going on with the FitDay sight,
provide a resource for members to communicate with one another (an indirect support system);
and publicize any types of events, tv/radio broadcasts, fundraisers, etc that FitDay may be a part
of. FitDay does not have a very thorough way of gathering feedback from their site, and
utilizing social media may be a nice avenue to hear from the community.
On the same topic of feedback, it would be beneficial for FitDay to develop a better
feedback system so they can purposefully make enhancements and innovations to their site.
Whether they send surveys to their registered users, conducts usability tests or focus groups,
some sort of structured way of gathering feedback would be very beneficial to enhancing their
web presence. I would recommend that FitDay continues to enhance their site constantly based
on new trends, data and information; however, it would be increasingly beneficial for them to
make more informed enhancements based on feedback.
Another recommendation that would be beneficial for FitDay would be to create a mobile
application compatible for smart phones, iPhones and PDA’s. This will remain consist with
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FitDay’s purpose of being a nutrition and fitness tool. A mobile application would be very
helpful for people who are constantly on the go that would like to use FitDay more conveniently.
I would also recommend that FitDay create some sort of discussion forum or support
group. Whether it be an internal blog that users can discuss their personal stories with one
another, or a discussion forum amounts members that allows them to gain insight from each
other, adding this piece would make FitDay more of a threat compared to other online weight
loss and fitness journals that already have this component. Additionally, it would also give
members a form of accountability to one another to keep them motivated to pursue their diet and
fitness goals using FitDay.
Recommendations- WeightWatchers
WeightWatchers.com has utilized a number of different web-based and non web-based
platforms to reach a wide audience, without making the site and its features too overwhelming
(like SparkPeople.com). I would recommend that WeightWatchers.com improve their Twitter
page. After following WeightWatchers.com on Twitter it is apparent that the site isn’t frequently
updated or utilized to its full capacity. Additionally, the Twitter page isn’t as “neat” (the logo
doesn’t fit correctly in the box) or organized as the Facebook site. There is a lot of room for
WeightWatchers to enhance the Twitter site to promote updates, new products, recipes and
connect users. It may also be a good idea for WeightWatchers.com to utilize Podcasts and
YouTube as another way to enhance their web presence. WeightWatchers mission is to portray
science-based nutrition information. By creating a podcast for subscription or for free,
WeightWatchers can use the podcast to touch on news and updates in the field of nutrition and
fitness for users. YouTube can be utilized as another avenue to share their food and fitness
demos. Currently, these features are only available to paid members of WeightWatchers,
however, if the general public could view these videos for free and like what they see, it might
compel them to visit WeightWatchers.com and actually try out the program. In terms of other
social media, I would recommend WeightWatchers continue to utilize Facebook. The site is
very organized and it is a great way for WeightWatchers users to connect and share their stories.
Additionally, it offers another avenue for WeightWatchers to direct Facebook users to their site.
On the same note, allowing for online trials of WeightWatchers.com may be a beneficial
way to increase users and members. Currently, you can read about the features of
WEightWatchers.com, but there is no opportunity to see what you are going to get out of it. By
allowing users a free 3-day trial, it may increase website hits and increase membership.
WeightWatchers.com uses a lot of platforms very efficiently that I would recommend
they continue. First of all, their discussion forums are very well segmented and monitored,
making them organized and appealing for users. Additionally, they have a very efficient
feedback system that I would recommend they continue (focus groups, usability testing, site
surveys and questionnaires). This is a great means of purposefully making enhancements,
adding new tools and features, and making changes to the website based on user demand.
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Conclusion:
Overall, SparkPeople.com, FitDay.com and WeightWatchers.com are three different
organizations that utilize both similar and different web and non-web platforms to reach a wide
audience. All of the above have designated a mission and have attempted to utilize their web
presence to promote their mission. Every organization has the opportunity to improve their web
presence to encourage more site visits and generate membership and registration. It is important
that these sites continue to listen to the demands of the community and the users to constantly
make enhancements and innovations to their sites and remain competitive with other
nutrition/fitness and weight loss organizations on the web.
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