Noom Drops Most of Weight Watchers’s False Advertising Claims

Weight-loss app maker Noom beat most of Weight Watchers’s claims that comparisons to its weight-loss program amounted to false advertising.

Noom’s ads were statements of opinion and “non-actionable puffery,” the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York said.

Weight Watchers said Noom’s ads falsely asserted that “its plans facilitate permanent weight loss, whereas Weight Watchers customers follow less-effective ‘crash’ diets; that a consumer will lose more weight with Noom than through Weight Watchers; and that Noom’s methods are backed up by extensive scientific research.” Weight Watchers also accused Noom of infringing its trademarks.

Noom’s ads featuring the ...