|
Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail)
|
9 Months Ended | 9 Months Ended | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sep. 30, 2012
USD ($)
|
Dec. 31, 2011
USD ($)
|
Sep. 30, 2011
USD ($)
|
Dec. 31, 2010
USD ($)
|
Sep. 30, 2012
Bolivars Alternative Legal Exchange Mechanism
USD ($)
|
Sep. 30, 2012
Bolivars Alternative Legal Exchange Mechanism
VEF
|
Sep. 30, 2012
Herbalife Venezuela's
USD ($)
|
Sep. 30, 2012
Herbalife Venezuela's
VEF
|
Sep. 30, 2011
Herbalife Venezuela's
|
Dec. 31, 2011
Herbalife Venezuela's
|
Sep. 30, 2012
USD
USD ($)
|
|
| Subsidiary or Equity Method Investee [Line Items] | |||||||||||
| Foreign Currency Transaction Losses | $ 4,100,000 | ||||||||||
| Percent by which alternative legal exchange mechanism was less favorable than SITME | 41.00% | 41.00% | |||||||||
| SITME rate for re-measurement | 5.3 | 5.3 | |||||||||
| Currency Exchanged through Alternative Legal Exchange Mechanisms | 53,900,000 | 6,000,000 | |||||||||
| Net monetary Bolivar denominated assets and liabilities | 69,000,000 | 69,000,000 | |||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ 321,722,000 | $ 258,775,000 | $ 261,521,000 | $ 190,550,000 | $ 71,600,000 | 71,600,000 | |||||
| Subsidiary net sale as percentage of consolidated sales | Approximately 3% | Approximately 3% | Approximately 2% | ||||||||
| Subsidiary asset as percentage of consolidated assets | Approximately 6% | Approximately 6% | Approximately 3% | ||||||||