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Medifast CEO on Obesity, Growth

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  • Description

    Medifast CEO Mike MacDonald weighs in on the cost of obesity and the state of business.

  • Duration 4:50
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And shares of General Mills getting a -- following.

Positive third quarter earnings that beat the street.

The maker of Cheerios Betty Crocker product that Hamburger Helper added you'll play yogurt to -- pantry last summer and that helped lift sales.

-- also announcing hope hope hope the -- -- Jolly Green Giant is back -- gentler version of the giant to coax more kids.

-- So the maker can sell more peas and carrots expect to see the giant back on TV starting this week.

Well on the hills -- -- looks like kids aren't the only ones need to be an eating more vegetables a slew of obesity news out this week is rather frightening.

More than 500 million people worldwide are obese with rates here in the United States expected to jump.

By fifty per cent in the next twenty years and the cost of obesity.

Is also huge health problems including diabetes heart disease hypertension.

Could as 66 billion dollars the nation's health care bill.

For action on that and a lot more I'm joined by Mike McDonald he's the CEO weight loss company.

Medifast -- we're gonna get the numbers talk about the company but I'll get your reaction to these staggering numbers I mean why are we not dealing -- with obesity in this country.

I think it's extremely it's an extremely difficult issue we see as an example a market opportunity in the united states of eighteen billion dollars in the market.

Just to sell into the market of obesity.

Which is tremendous but.

I think that -- -- -- more work done by governments by companies with their insurance companies allowing them to cover a lot of the preventive things.

That people can do rather then cover just the drugs and things like that you -- Thank you that I edited pieces of the health care law that we have in place right now.

It is a good thing I'll I'll -- help but I.

I think actually well I believe that we could do more things for prevention that we just did an arranger with -- acts of pharmaceutical company in Mexico that sells obesity drugs.

And they're gonna use Medifast in the prevention side.

Which is very unusual because they wanna have the full spectrum help somebody from preventing obesity all the way to treating someone with priest.

If you and that's your first international expansion you -- you took over as the CEO the company back in February stock's actually up about 67% your stock is.

Since you took over you were 33 years and -- you've been in office Max and mean.

Medifast is certainly -- to change for you -- what do you doing differently the company.

Well I think the company was a great company my brother found has taken it over in in the late ninety's a huge traffic entrepreneur where.

And grew the company an hour and a phase where we have a terrific market opportunity.

And we're coming out with a lot of new products we've -- -- eleven new products over the last three months for coming out with more in November.

Things like cereals the people can use and shakes and bars and one of the things I think we've done pretty well as the convenience of our products so if you're out to in the daytime you're working you're busy.

People just take out a bar they they use products that are easy to use.

And it really is a five and one you do five Medifast meals during the day and then one leading green -- And we've seen great success and we've been growing at over 20% so our our growth rate is high.

And we're seeing people I was at an airport dividend lady -- -- German -- I lost seventy pounds.

I and it's great to be out there hearing people say I've had success losing weight because the skeptics -- weight loss are people always regain the way.

And the reality the reality is that you have to reduce your calories and continue on some type of maintenance and order to continue to lose -- Mike Lyons says there -- don't understand yeah it's hard to say then I tried a lot of work -- the Fed up.

You did just -- and with the FTC other work complaints with when you're subsidiaries about.

False claims and Elaine do you worry about things like that in the advertising side.

ES expression and a smaller company I was had a great fortune of working Xerox a very large company really great compliance and things like that.

In a smaller company we are putting a lot more controls beefing up our legal staff.

And our issue with the federal government was we had a two to five pound -- per week over four week period.

They came back and said we want to to five pounds for two -- someone to pounce the next two weeks.

So we adjusted our claims that this was in 1992 consent degree so I decided rather than fight the government to settle with the government.

And then really make sure we're complying going -- -- And we agreed to disagree.

But we're moving forward as a company and I think that.

You know will make sure we follow the government regulations as we should.

I think a lot of people agree or disagree with the I think all of the CEO of mad -- -- -- fascinating story from you by the way family business thank you very much like thank you -- and it's in the --

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