That's really funny, since 6'10 is not that unusual a height. 7'10 or something I could understand FUBARing their system but not 6'10.

Perhaps they are being honest? I can imagine they really have tailored their offerings to squat overweight people, since that's probably their primary market.

Do you really want to be their guinea pig?

Does anyone out there know why they have a height limit?

@dwb: Best bet is due to BMI calculations.
Thats all I can think of for this.

@dragonfire81:
Do you live among giants?

@dragonfire81:

Are you joking? Do you know what percentage of people are that tall? I'll admit I don't, but I'd wager it's a very, very small number.

I use fitday.com. It doesn't tell you what to eat (I don't think) but you log what you do eat and it gives you a full nutritional profile. Plus there are a bunch of other nifty tools for exercise and weight management. Also, it's free.

@dragonfire81: Wow you must have lots of tall friends. I don't think I personally know anyone over 6'6

www.sparkpeople.com is free and a wonderful alternative to WW online.

@dragonfire81: Less than a hundredth of a percent of American adults are over 6'8". I can't even find statistics for 6'10".

A 6.10 person on average, even if skinny, probably will weigh a lot compared to us normies. I'm guessing WW know that there's only so much weight a person that tall can lose without going anorexic.

@Franklin Comes Alive!:

My Google skills aren't good enough to figure out, but I have seen statistics like .02% of males are taller than 6'7". So I'd guess something like .001% are 6'10" or higher.

@dragonfire81: You mean 5'10" isn't that tall right? I mean even 6'4" isn't too common.

Also. perhaps if he called they would help... You can't just try the website and give up.

Plus OP, J "tiny" J, 280 isn't bad at all for that height.

Maybe they do not accept people that are that tall out of fear of telling them to do something that may be unhealthy? They do tell you to contact a doctor first, so who knows!

I mean, at '6.10 you might be as rare as someone that weighs 800 pounds! Someone try to put 800 pounds on the Weight Watchers website and see if they accept you! Haha!

I believe they have the same issues with too-short people, too.

I don't think Weight Watchers is discriminating. Very few people are that height, and it's hard to plan a system for people who fit outside the norm. Weight Watchers probably deemed it unprofitable or inefficient to spend resources designing a program for a very small population of people who may or may not use their services to begin with.

It goes up to 6'8" and down to 4'5"
[www.weightwatchers.com]

I bet they simply aren't motivated to do calculations for tall people that are a small percentage of the general population, and as for the shortness limitation, they are doing their best to avoid catering to children (and lawsuits). Just a guess though.

@dwb:

Yeah, I'd guess BMI calculations don't work correctly for someone 6'10". We already know they don't work correctly for someone that is muscular...someone of that height is going to have a LOT more musculature than someone 5'10".

@pecan 3.14159265: You could use those exact same arguments to deny access to the disabled, were it not for the ADA.

@Lo-Pan: 6'4" is common among us corn-fed midwesterners! In fact, 50% of the men I live with are 6'4"!

@Saboth: They don't work for short people either - I had one that actually said "Your height is incorrect for this age group" then tell me I'm actually 14.

Unless he has spoken to a live person, it's a bit premature to complain. The online system obviously has parameters built in, and that's an automated message. Since Weight Watchers obviously HAS helped him in the past, it seems very likely they're still willing and able to do so. He just needs to call someone, or go see someone.

@pecan 3.14159265: So yes, that's discrimination.

discrimination (n) - the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually

What you meant is that they aren't doing it because they hate tall people.

@Spaceman Bill Leah: fitday, like every other program but the US gov't's "My Pyramid" won't provide data for pregnant or nursing women, despite that data being readily available from the feds (same as is used elsewhere in fitday).

My fitday is currently bitching at me for my calorie intake with the extra breastfeeding calories.

@shepd: Doesn't BMI standardize the formula so that you know if someone is fat regardless of their height?

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Weird. I didn't even realize that. I just kind of gave up on it while knocked up. Entering in all the Second Breakfasts and Other Lunches got a little tedious after a while.

if you have done the program before, why bother paying for the service again. Just repeat what you learned

@oneliketadow: BMI is not an accurate measurement of if someone is fat or not.

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Yeeeaaaahhh I'm not touching this one with a 6'10" pole.

@dragonfire81: So your 6'10". Its time to remove "body conscience" from your repertoire. None of us mere mortals can determine if your overweight because we all are staring at your belly button most of the time. I think I am out of my league when suggesting to anyone over 6'5" "you should loose about 10 pounds"

I have found ediets.com to be very helpful.

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): I hope not Mr. McGee, that baby must have been a whopper ;).

Ok, 6'4" may be kind of common, but I think we can all agree that 6'10" isn't. not yet at least.

Try sparkpeople.com. It's free.

@Ratty: Not at all, it doesn't take into account what kind (muscle/fat) of weight you're carrying only the numbers.

@TheWillow: BMI is terribly inaccurate in the 5'0" range as well. It doesn't at all consider body shape.

@zacwax: You're assuming he actually learned something.

Of course, I'm assuming JJ is a man. Good God, I hope this is a man.

Now, I don't see it on the screen saying that it is his height that is the reason for not being accepted. Maybe I am missing something, but could there be another reason for the rejection?

What kills me about this (as a Weight Watchers Leader) is that it's not the program that can't help someone 6'10" (it can), it's a total failure of the online tools.

What a simple thing that should be to fix!

But, after that online "reception," why would JJ ever want to go into a meeting room or try again?

@donjumpsuit: actually, everyone staring at his belly button is probably exactly why he wants to slim down a bit!

@Franklin Comes Alive!: Yeah, I'm 6' even and people are constantly asking me to reach stuff for them.

One time I was walking through a JC Penney's and a lady asked me if I could reach a sweater for her that was on a hangar a good 12 feet high. I guess in her mind "taller than me = same height as a building."

Maybe they're saying is you're tall... and Fat, you got other issues to deal with.

I think the guy should just totally go with the 6'6 diet plan. Sure, they'll assume he's short and chunky but the plan should work in theory.

@Lo-Pan: Mr. McGee is 6'4", baby McGee is 1'9". :D (And, indeed, tall man + short woman = uncomfortably large baby. Not large on an absolute scale, but large for me!)

But yeah, I know a LOT of men over 6 feet, and a surprising number over 6'5". I'm sure it's a combination of modern nutrition and ethnic inheritance in the midwest. I only know two who are 6'10", though.

@Lo-Pan: It also doesn't take a woman's badonkadonk into account.

@HFC: If JJ is a woman, I hope she is good at basketball.

@Malkin: I love SP!!! You can actually track calories, carbs, fat, protein, sodium, etc, unlike WW which gives you "points." If I'm taking the time to track things, I might as well have real numbers.

@calquist: Read the red paragraph, where the X is, in the image.

@Lo-Pan: Also, my husband at 6'4" was totally used to being the tallest guy in the room, until he moved to the midwest, and he got a bit of a complex about it now that he works in a 15-lawyer office and two of them are taller than him. Then my sister started dating this guy who was 6'10" and my husband was visibly uncomfortable because he is NEVER the shorter person in the conversation ... let alone the shorter person by six entire inches. :D

@HFC: Or at least a hottie that I could climb like a drinken monkey...

@cynicgrl: Those shortist bastards!