Medifast

Medifast, Inc.

Type	Public (NYSE: MED)
Founded	1980
Headquarters	Owings Mills, Maryland, USA
Key people	Michael C. MacDonald, Chairman and CEO industry = Weight loss
Products	Medifast diet
Revenue	$165.62 million USD (2009)
Operating income	$19.37 million USD (2009)
Net income	$11.96 million USD (2009)
Number of employees	365 (2010)
Slogan	easy, fast...
Website	www.medifast1.com

Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) is an American nutrition and weight loss company based in Owings Mills, Maryland. The company owns five subsidiaries: Jason Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Jason), Take Shape for Life, Inc. (TSFL), Jason Enterprises, Inc., Jason Properties, LLC and Seven Crondall, LLC. Medifast produces, distributes, and sells weight management and disease management products, including the Medifast weight-loss program.

The company is public with a 2012 market capitalization of $250 million.

Medifast, Inc. was founded by William Vitale, M.D. in 1980.^[1] His products were sold directly to doctors, who in turn prescribed them to their patients.

The products are now available directly to consumers, and the company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: MED).

In October 2010, Medifast was named the #1 Small Company in America by Forbes magazine in the list of "America's 100 Best Small Companies." This was the third consecutive year that Forbes has recognized Medifast, which advanced to number 16 on the list in 2009, compared to number 85 in 2008.,^[2][3]

In September 2012, Medifast's subsidiary, Jason Pharmaceuticals, paid a $3.7 million USD civil penalty as part of a consent decree with the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. The government agencies 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 did not have a reasonable basis of support in scientific evidence.^[4]

References

External links

• Medifast Official Site