Press Releases

2/4/2006
America On the Move® and LEAN CUISINE® partner to promote healthy lifestyles for healthcare professionals, patients

BOSTON – America On the Move Foundation™, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals and communities across the country improve health and quality of life, and LEAN CUISINE® announced a partnership today that will enable healthcare professionals to educate themselves and their patients about simple, daily changes that create a healthier lifestyle. The cornerstone of the program is a free, comprehensive Healthcare Professional Toolkit that will be available in April.

The Toolkit is the product of the Foundation’s simple research-based flagship program America On the Move® (AOM) and is funded by LEAN CUISINE®. The Toolkit will enable physicians and other healthcare professionals to promote small changes in physical activity and eating behavior for themselves and their patients, and to ultimately help prevent the annual weight gain and associated increases in the development of chronic diseases related to preventable weight problems and obesity in the American adult population.

The AOM message is simple – move more and eat smart by making 2 small daily changes:

• Take 2,000 more steps (about 1 mile)
• Eat 100 fewer calories (about a tablespoon of butter)

By promoting these tactics via the Toolkit, healthcare professionals will provide their patients with concrete information regarding energy balance, the link between obesity and many other negative health outcomes and the importance of maintaining a healthy weight. As part of the program, healthcare professionals are also encouraged to become role models for their patients and to encourage both their staffs and their patients to implement the AOM message in their daily lives.

"We are thrilled to have the support of LEAN CUISINE® in encouraging healthcare professionals and their patients to lead healthier lives," said Dr. James O. Hill, America On the Move Foundation co-founder and professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. "Our hope is that more Americans will see this program as a fun and simple way to become more active, eat more healthfully and, as a result, achieve and maintain a healthy weight."

The Toolkit includes several patient handouts, brochures, office signs and posters for the practice or clinical setting. It also includes guidance for clinical and office staff on the importance of becoming role models for their patients, of increasing their own knowledge about obesity and health outcomes and the need for patient support and follow-up. Finally, and thanks to the generous support of LEAN CUISINE®, a special edition of the AOM Quick Start Guide and AOM pedometer will also be available for those who redeem a LEAN CUISINE® coupon available through participating healthcare professionals or via the AOM Web site (while supplies last).

"We are proud to support America On the Move’s efforts to provide healthcare professionals with simple tools to help them help their patients become healthier," said Brett White, Director of Marketing for LEAN CUISINE®. "As a major food company dedicated to providing quality and convenient meals to our consumers, we appreciate the simplicity of America On the Move’s philosophy. It truly demonstrates how small changes in your daily life can make a huge difference."

More than 60 percent of American adults do not engage in the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity a day and 25 percent of American adults aren’t physically active at all. Through this program, AOM and LEAN CUISINE® hope to offer resources to Americans that will help them lead healthier lifestyles. Healthcare professionals can download the Toolkit, starting April 30 by visiting www.americaonthemove.org.