Harris Interactive® Introduces Body Mass Index (BMI) Specialty Panel

NEW YORK, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Harris Interactive® (Nasdaq: HPOL), a leading global custom market research firm, today announced the launch of its Body Mass Index (BMI) Specialty Panel, developed to accommodate clients interested in exploring BMI-related issues.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100518/NY06801LOGO )

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100518/NY06801LOGO )

BMI is a statistical measure that compares a person's weight and height. Though it does not actually measure the percentage of body fat, it is used to estimate a healthy body weight based on a person's height. Due to its ease of measurement and calculation, it is the most widely used diagnostic tool to identify weight problems.

Using the BMI specialty panel, clients will be able to learn more about underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese U.S. adults quickly, easily and economically. Additionally, clients can also leverage Harris Interactive's vast experience in conducting research that explores potentially sensitive issues.

"The rise in obesity rates has led to an increase in chronic conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease across all age groups. With the passage of health care reform in the US, there is a greater focus on disease prevention, which many say starts with reducing the levels of obesity. Moreover, companies are looking more and more at addressing consumers' overall well being rather than just treating a specific disease or condition. Over the years we've seen a rise in the amount of research that focuses on weight, whether it relates to solving weight problems or as a component of addressing other conditions," stated Felisha Lewis, Vice President of Healthcare Research at Harris Interactive.

BMI specialty panel members can be accessed at any time, since they are part of the Harris Poll Online(SM) panel, a multimillion member panel of people who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive's online surveys. Additionally, the BMI specialty panel is broadly representative with regard to how BMI is distributed socio-demographically in the general population.

The BMI specialty panel currently includes more than 165,000 adults, ages 18+, of whom Harris Interactive has obtained height and weight information – the measures needed to compute BMI – and are grouped into one of four categories:

• Underweight Adults – BMI level less than 18.5
• Normal Weight Adults – BMI level between 18.5 and 24.9
• Overweight Adults – BMI level between 25 and 25.9
• Obese Adults – BMI level of 30 or more

"We can now proactively target respondents by their BMI while minimizing the impact of always having to ask our respondents such sensitive questions about their weight," stated Lewis.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for The Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

SOURCE Harris Interactive