Medifast, Inc. () is an American

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficien ...

and

weight loss Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat (adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other con ...

company based in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Medifast produces, distributes, and sells weight loss and health-related products through websites,

multi-level marketing Multi-level marketing (MLM), also called network marketing or pyramid selling, is a controversial marketing strategy for the sale of products or services in which the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling t ...

telemarketing Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subseque ...

, and

franchised Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

weight loss clinics.

Subsidiaries

The company owns five subsidiaries: *Jason Pharmaceuticals, Inc. *Take Shape for Life, Inc. (TSFL) (renamed Optavia from July 2017) *Jason Enterprises, Inc. *Jason Properties, LLC *Seven Crondall, LLC

History

William Vitale, a medical doctor, founded Medifast in 1980. He sold his products directly to other doctors, who in turn prescribed them to their patients alongside behavioural counselling techniques. The company is publicly traded on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

(symbol: MED). On July 17, 1995, HealthRite (predecessor of Medifast) changed its name from Vitamin Specialties Corp. In 2000 the company pivoted to a direct-to-consumer marketing program with the help of Jason Pharmaceuticals and in 2001, the company changed its name to Medifast, Inc. In 2002, Retired Marine Colonel Bradley T. MacDonald and Chairman of the Board at the time, along with clinical specialist Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen, created Take Shape For Life as a personal Coach to Client system and the company’s “Habits of Health System.” In October 2010, Medifast was ranked number 1 on ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' magazine's list of "America's 100 Best Small Companies". The company was ranked 18th as of the 2014 list. Medifast was named one of Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America in 2016 and 2017. In July 2017, Medifast changed the name of its subsidiary Take Shape For Life to Optavia and introduced a new line of products, Optavia Essentials, directly sold from Coaches to clients. In October 2017, Medifast relocated its headquarters to Baltimore from Owings Mills, Maryland. The company is public with a market capitalization of $2.106 billion, as of June 2022.

False advertising settlement

In September 2012, Medifast's subsidiary, Jason Pharmaceuticals, paid a $3.7 million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

civil penalty for

false advertising False advertising is defined as the act of publishing, transmitting, or otherwise publicly circulating an advertisement containing a false claim, or statement, made intentionally (or recklessly) to promote the sale of property, goods, or servic ...

. The Federal Trade Commission and

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and a ...

said that advertisements for the "Medifast 5 & 1 Plan" low-calorie diet told consumers they could "lose up to 2-5 pounds per week", and that these weight-loss claims lacked a reasonable scientific basis, and were unsubstantiated. Under the settlement, any future claims made by the company must be backed by at least one human clinical study.

References

External links

* {{Authority control American companies established in 1980 Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies based in Baltimore Low-carbohydrate diets Multi-level marketing companies Weight loss companies Nutritional supplement companies of the United States