Medifast Inc Company Profile

Medifast, Inc. is engaged in the production, distribution, and sale of weight loss, weight management, and healthy living products and other consumable health and diet products. The Company primarily operates through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Jason Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Take Shape For Life, LLC, Jason Enterprises, Inc., Medifast Franchise Systems (“MFSI”), Inc., Jason Properties, LLC, Medifast Nutrition, Inc. and Seven Crondall, LLC. Medifast product lines include weight loss, weight management, and healthy living meal replacements, snacks, hydration products and vitamins. The Company manufactures a significant portion of its products at its manufacturing facility located in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Over the past 30 years, obesity in the United States has risen dramatically. In 2013, the American Medical Association officially declared obesity a disease and The American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and The Obesity Society recommended that obesity be managed as a chronic disease. Throughout the world, the World Health Organization estimates that approximately 1.9 billion people are overweight. In the United States, over two-thirds of the adult population fall within the overweight or obese categories. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), over 78 million U.S. adults are obese.

Furthermore, the CDC reported that forty-five states had adult obesity rates of 25% or higher, and twenty-two of these states had obesity rates at 30% or more. Being overweight and/or obese is linked to a multitude of serious comorbidities including heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancers, arthritis, sleep apnea and depression.

The primary factors contributing to obesity, which are well known are: unhealthy food choices and lack of physical activity. Obesity is not limited to adults; the CDC has reported children and adolescents are also affected. According to the CDC, the prevalence of obesity in children age 6-11 years has doubled and obesity rates have quadrupled in adolescents age 12-19 years in the past 30 years.

The U.S. weight loss market itself is estimated to be a $65 billion per year industry, including consumer spending on diet foods, drinks and low-calorie sweeteners; health clubs and workout videos; medically supervised and commercial weight loss programs; children’s weight loss camps; diet books; appetite suppressants and more. Portion-controlled, meal-replacement weight management programs are continuing to gain popularity, as consumers search for a safe and effective solution that provides balanced nutrition, effective weight loss, and valuable behavior-modification education.