JENNY Craig co-founder Sid Craig, who with his wife Jenny built the largest weight loss-centre company in the world, has died at the age of 76.
Mr Craig died at his San Diego home on Monday, the company said in a statement.
He is survived by his wife, five children and 13 grandchildren.
"Together, he and Jenny built the strong foundation of our company's values, culture, and mission of improving people's lives by helping them lose weight and keep it off. I personally feel so very fortunate to have known such a talented and generous mentor and friend. He will be dearly missed," chief executive Patti Larchet said.
Mr Craig's career began in the mid-1950s as a part-time instructor and entrepreneur at Arthur Murray Dance Studios, where he bought five franchises.
In the 1970s, he owned a stake in a small chain of salons before forming a new corporation of ladies' figure control salons called Body Contour.
Canadian-born Mr Craig also met New Orleans-raised Jenny Guidroz Bourcq in the 1970s and the couple sold off Body Contours and moved to Melbourne in 1982 where they began Jenny Craig Inc, a chain of weight loss centres.
Mr Craig boosted turned the weight management company into overnight success when he placed live advertisements on New Faces, Australia's top talent show, earning Jenny Craig the 14th-highest company name recognition in the country.
His leadership built Jenny Craig from a small Australian company into a multinational business with 655 Centres operating in four countries, the company said.
In 2006, Nestle bought Jenny Craig for $US600 million.
RIP, hope the fat fucks did not stress you out..
