Whole Person Integrative Eating

What Whole Person Integrative Eating does

Whole Person Integrative Eating (WPIE) is a privately-held health education company founded in 1998 by nutrition researcher Deborah Kesten, MPH, and behavioral scientist Larry Scherwitz, PhD, following their work on Dean Ornish's heart-disease reversal research. The company markets an evidence-based dietary lifestyle program designed to treat overeating, overweight, and obesity through four dimensions of nourishment — biological, psychological, spiritual, and social nutrition — embodied in its proprietary "Four Facets of Food" framework and a 76-item statistically validated self-assessment quiz that identifies seven overeating styles. The core platform delivers a 20-module online certification course to health professionals, supported by the WPIE Playbook (charts, posters, automated assessment tools, guided meditations), a published book, a podcast, and an educational blog. The methodology is grounded in 25+ years of research with 5,256 participants and has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal and Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing.

The company operates from Sausalito, California with approximately 5 employees and has no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and no institutional investors. The primary revenue driver is certification course tuition sold via wpie.org under an undisclosed subscription pricing model to nutritionists, dietitians, wellness coaches, fitness professionals, and healthcare providers; secondary revenue comes from book sales through retail channels and from referral traffic generated through the "Find a WPIE Specialist" directory. Distribution is digital-first and global in reach, with content marketing (blog, podcast, social media) as the primary top-of-funnel acquisition channel and direct enrollment through the website serving as the conversion path. Distribution currently relies on a small publicly listed base of four certified specialists.

The business is a founder-led lifestyle medicine education platform with no acquisition history, no enterprise contracts, no international subsidiaries, and no public financial disclosures. Operating geographies include the United States and Germany, with global online delivery through the course portal. The trademark "Whole Person Integrative Eating®" is federally registered, and the firm's competitive advantages rest on its proprietary research dataset, the founders' Ornish-program pedigree, and the certification-driven referral ecosystem.

Name

Whole Person Integrative Eating

Legal name

Integrative Eating

Website

https://integrativeeating.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Whole Person Integrative Eating (WPIE) is a privately-held health education company that sells a 20-module online certification course and proprietary dietary lifestyle program to health professionals, based on 25 years of research by founders Deborah Kesten and Larry Scherwitz.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nutrition Education and Wellness Coaching

NAICS

Diet and Weight Reducing Centers (812191)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAHAA

Nutrition & Diet Education (Meal Planning, Macros, Healthy Cooking)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Health, Wellness & Lifestyle Education (Nutrition, Fitness, Mindfulness)

SECONDARYEDAAAHAF

Weight Management & Behavior Change Education

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Health, Wellness & Lifestyle Education (Nutrition, Fitness, Mindfulness)

SECONDARYHSADAFAA

General Nutrition Coaching

Home & Personal Services/Fitness, Wellness & Personal Training/Nutrition Coaching & Weight Management

Keywords

• Integrative eating
• Nutrition certification
• Weight management coaching
• Holistic nutrition education
• Overeating prevention

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Certification Course Tuition: The 20-module Foundations of Whole Person Integrative Eating Certificate Course is offered online for health professionals who want to become certified WPIE specialists. The course includes access to all modules, materials, lectures, research papers, exercises, final exam, and exclusive education materials.
2. Book Sales: The award-winning book 'Whole Person Integrative Eating: A Breakthrough Dietary Lifestyle to Treat the Root Causes of Overeating, Overweight, and Obesity' is available for purchase, likely through Amazon and other retail channels.
3. WPIE Specialist Directory Referrals: Certified specialists are listed in the 'Find a WPIE Specialist' directory, which drives client referrals to graduates of the certification program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Whole Person Integrative Eating sells an evidence-based dietary lifestyle program and a 20-module online certification course for health professionals based on 25+ years of original research. The program addresses overeating, overweight, and obesity through the proprietary Four Facets of Food framework (Biological, Psychological, Spiritual, and Social Nutrition) and targets seven scientifically validated overeating styles. Supporting paid assets include the WPIE Playbook of practitioner materials and an award-winning book available via retail channels.

Product overview

Whole Person Integrative Eating (WPIE) offers an evidence-based dietary lifestyle program centered around four dimensions of nourishment: biological, psychological, spiritual, and social nutrition. The core offering is the WPIE Program combined with the Foundations of Whole Person Integrative Eating Certificate Course—a 20-module online training for health professionals. Supporting products include the WPIE Playbook (education materials with assessment tools, audio meditations, and recipes), the 76-item 'What's Your Overeating Style?' Self-Assessment Quiz, and The WPIE Guided Meal Meditation audio. Additional offerings include the Healing Secrets Podcast, the WPIE Blog with content across four nutrition categories, and a Certified WPIE Specialist Directory connecting users with trained practitioners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Foundations of Whole Person Integrative Eating Certificate Course A 20-module online certification course that trains health professionals with the knowledge, skills, and coaching tools to help clients eat well, weigh less, and enhance health through the WPIE dietary lifestyle. Includes full syllabus, lectures, research papers, exercises, final exam, and access to WPIE Playbook materials.
• WPIE Playbook Comprehensive education materials for WPIE practitioners, containing charts, posters, automated assessment tools, audio meditations, recipes, and experiential exercises organized in five phases to use with clients.
• Whole Person Integrative Eating (WPIE) Program Evidence-based dietary lifestyle program designed to overcome overeating, overweight, and obesity by addressing four dimensions of nourishment: biological, psychological, spiritual, and social nutrition. Provided directly to individuals and licensed to certified professionals for use with their clients.
• Whole Person Integrative Eating Book Award-winning book by Deborah Kesten and Larry Scherwitz that introduces the WPIE dietary lifestyle to consumer readers, made available for purchase through Amazon and other retail channels.
• What's Your Overeating Style? Self-Assessment Quiz 76-item statistically validated questionnaire that identifies an individual's unique food choices and eating behaviors leading to overeating and weight gain, revealing their overeating style and root causes.
• WPIE Guided Meal Meditation Audio meditation that synthesizes and applies each element of the Whole Person Integrative Eating program, guiding users to put the methodology into action each time they eat.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research participants who replaced overeating styles with WPIE principles ate less and lost weight without dieting
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WholePersonIntegrativeEating
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/whole-person-integrative-eating
• Instagraminstagram.com/integrativeeating

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Whole Person Integrative Eating