What Online Weight Programs Really Cost: MetabolicMoms Opens the Numbers Behind Its Coverage to Everyone

The price on an online weight program's sign-up page is rarely the price a family pays a few months later. Intro offers end, plans change and the fine print adds up. MetabolicMoms, a magazine written by mothers for mothers, has made the numbers behind its coverage open, so anyone comparing programs, or writing about them, can work from the same figures.

"The question we hear most is what this actually costs once the intro price is gone," said Tessa Bloom, who covers cost and coverage for MetabolicMoms. "We were already writing those prices down, with the date we checked each one. Putting them where anyone can use them seemed like the obvious next step."

The idea behind the data starts with one of the magazine's cost pieces, what a program really costs a family six months in, which follows the price from the first month to the months that come after it.

What the open data includes

The open data comes in two plain files. The first lists the online programs the magazine covers, with the monthly price each one shows publicly, where it is available and the date that row was last checked. The second gathers the published study figures the magazine's articles rely on, each with a link to its original source. Both are free to reuse with credit to MetabolicMoms, and each row carries its own date so readers can see how fresh it is.

For parents deciding rather than researching, the magazine's provider reviews explain what each program includes, what a month costs and what to check before signing up. Some providers are partners, and the magazine may be paid when readers sign up through its links. Partner status is marked on every row of the data.

About MetabolicMoms

MetabolicMoms is a magazine for mothers weighing online weight programs, with reporting on cost, coverage and the realities of raising a family. It is written by mothers, not clinicians, and is not owned by any provider.