NEW YORK (Oct. 3, 2007) -- About.com, one of the 15 most visited sites in the U.S, has launched Calorie Count Plus ( http://caloriecount.about.com), a free site that provides guidance and support to dieters. Calorie Count Plus uses interactive tools combined with community elements and information on food and exercise to enable dieters to cultivate a healthier lifestyle while helping them to reach their diet goals.
“Calorie Count Plus arms dieters with a foundation to help them succeed at weight loss,” said Marjorie Martin, general manager, About.com Health. “Dieters can use Calorie Count Plus to supplement an existing diet or they can use the site on its own as a way to track daily calories and exercise compared to weight loss goals.”
The site begins by evaluating a user’s current activity level and physical profile. It then prompts the member to create a list of his/her favorite foods. Keeping the user’s likes and dislikes in mind, Calorie Count Plus’s food recommendation tool then suggests foods with a higher nutritional value, based on the preferences of members with similar tastes. The member is then taken through a series of questions which assess his/her eating habits and determine barriers for losing weight.
In addition to the site’s profile and recommendation tools, Calorie Count Plus also provides a number of community elements to offer support and encouragement during and after the weight-loss process. Users can journal and share their dieting experiences with other members, and members can interact and connect via the sites forums and groups. Forum discussions include topics such as motivation, recipes and health & support.
The site also includes a robust resource of food and exercise information including a Food Browser with nutrition facts on over 70,000 foods. Users can also browse existing recipes and analyze the nutrition data of their own recipes. The site’s comprehensive exercise information includes a twelve-week exercise plan developed by About.com’s Guide to Exercise, Paige Waehner. Users can research exercises by target area in the site’s Work Out Center and the Beginner’s Corner provides insight on how to get started with an exercise regime. Additional content, including video and articles from About.com’s Guides on topics such food, exercise and dieting, is included in the site’s Library.
About.com Health is one of the top health sites on the Web and a destination for consumers who are seeking resources to manage all aspects of their health. Content on the site is written by 80 Guides who provide credible, trustworthy information with a warm and compassionate voice. About.com’s medical review board evaluates all new health content for accuracy prior to publication. The site has also received Health On the Net Foundation’s Code of Conduct certification (HONcode©), which identifies About.com as an internationally reliable source of health information. Finally, through its recent acquisitions of Calorie-Count.com and UCompareHealthCare.com, About.com has expanded its leadership in the health and nutrition verticals and is providing exceptional new content and functionality to its users.
About About.com
Founded in 1996, About.com is one of the Web’s leading producers of original content. The site’s expert Guides provide users with accurate and unbiased information to help them live happier, healthier and more successful lives.
In March 2005, About.com was acquired by The New York Times Company (NYSE:
NYT), a leading media company with 2006 revenues of $3.3 billion, which includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 30 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
Contacts:
Lisa Langsdorf, 212-204-1467, E-mail: llangsdorf@about.com