Synopsis
This Is Big: How the Founder of Weight Watchers Changed the World—and Me by Marisa Meltzer is a memoir-nonfiction hybrid that intertwines the author’s personal struggles with weight and body image with the biography of Jean Nidetch, the founder of Weight Watchers. Meltzer, a journalist who has contributed to publications like The New Yorker and The New York Times, begins her narrative by reflecting on her lifelong battle with food and dieting, which started at the tender age of five. Growing up in Northern California as an indoors-loving child, she internalized early on that her weight was a defining and uncontrollable aspect of her life. This personal thread sets the stage for her exploration of diet culture and her decision to join Weight Watchers after coming across Nidetch’s 2015 obituary, which sparks her curiosity about the woman behind the global weight loss empire.
The book alternates between Meltzer’s year-long journey as a Weight Watchers member and Nidetch’s remarkable life story. Meltzer chronicles her own experiences with the program, detailing the monotony of counting points, attending meetings, and grappling with the emotional and psychological toll of trying to lose weight. Her candid reflections reveal a fraught relationship with food, marked by moments of self-awareness, frustration, and humor. She acknowledges the societal pressures and personal insecurities that have shaped her identity, often feeling that her weight overshadows her accomplishments. While Meltzer’s narrative is deeply personal, it also critiques the broader diet industry, questioning its promises and the cultural obsession with thinness. Her honesty about the lack of dramatic transformation in her own life—despite her efforts—adds a layer of authenticity, resonating with readers who have faced similar struggles.
Parallel to Meltzer’s story is the biography of Jean Nidetch, a working-class Jewish housewife from Queens, New York, who founded Weight Watchers in 1963. Nidetch’s journey began after a humiliating moment at a grocery store, where she was mistaken for being pregnant, prompting her to lose 70 pounds through a city-sponsored diet program. Recognizing the power of community in sustaining weight loss, she started hosting meetings in her living room, sharing her adapted diet plan with friends. This grassroots effort grew into Weight Watchers, a billion-dollar company that revolutionized diet culture by emphasizing group support over solitary shame. Meltzer portrays Nidetch as a charismatic, flawed, and ambitious woman—a “woman of appetite” who battled not only weight but also compulsive behaviors like gambling. Nidetch’s story is one of entrepreneurial triumph in an era when women faced significant barriers, yet Meltzer also highlights the contradictions in her legacy, as Weight Watchers contributed to the very diet culture that can perpetuate harmful ideas about body image.
Through these dual narratives, Meltzer weaves a thoughtful exploration of transformation, identity, and societal expectations. The book is not a tale of radical self-acceptance or a triumphant weight loss journey but rather a candid examination of what it means to navigate a world fixated on thinness. Meltzer’s witty, self-deprecating voice and thorough research into Nidetch’s life create a compelling narrative that is both personal and universal. She reflects on the parallels between her and Nidetch’s struggles, underscoring the enduring challenges of living in a body that doesn’t conform to societal ideals. Ultimately, This Is Big is a testament to the idea that transformation extends beyond the scale, encompassing self-understanding and resilience in the face of lifelong battles. The book has been praised for its humor, honesty, and incisive critique of diet culture, earning accolades from outlets like Vogue, The New York Times, and Esquire.