Will Jenny Craig Fail in France?

According to the OECD Factbook of 2009, America is the number one country in the world that has a highly obese population—a significant 34 percent of the population, that is. The Brits, on the other hand, run around 24 percent. While, irrespectively, the French only has 10 percent of its population as obese.

However, fitness company Jenny Craig plans to open up shop in France later this year. So will the brand be as big a hit there as it was here in the US? Well, an article posted in the Huffington post arguably says “no.”

The reason: French people don’t get as fat as Americans. Susan Yager, a columnist from the Huffington post says that:

“In 2004, when an uptick in childhood obesity was reported there, the government responded swiftly – children between the ages of five and 12 were weighed at school and reports containing their weights and body mass indexes were sent to their parents, along with instructions explaining how to interpret the numbers. Parents then attended meetings with local physicians and dieticians about ways to prevent or reverse the trend with diet and exercise, and children were taught about portion control and good nutrition. Vending machines selling soda and snacks were banned from school campuses and exercise was encouraged. The Plan was simple, clear and effective-the obesity rate declined before stabilizing in 2007.”

Despite her arguments, the brand still remains confident that they’ll do well in France.

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