Jenny Craig Celebrates Second Year of Relationship with American Heart Association and Expands on a New Creative Campaign to Reinforce Real Weight Loss

CARLSBAD, Calif., Dec. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Jenny Craig, one of the world's leading weight loss companies, announced today a continued relationship with the American Heart Association (AHA) to get Americans healthy and active, as well as efforts to celebrate its clients' success on the program through programs and their creative campaign.

In 2012, Jenny Craig embraced a new relationship with the American Heart Association to support its mission to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent by 2020.

In support of the American Heart Association's healthy living initiative My Heart. My Life.™, Jenny Craig launched My Heart. My Life.™ My Jenny, which encouraged Americans to join Team Jenny at more than 300 AHA Heart Walks across the country, offered tip cards with healthy recipes, free training plans and highlighted the American Heart Associations' free Walking Clubs, Walking Paths and other resources to help people eat healthier and stay physically active. Jenny Craig also promoted the AHA's annual Lifestyle Change Awards at the Heart Walks, by honoring individuals who lost weight.

"We applaud Jenny Craig's extensive efforts to promote the My Heart. My Life.™ healthy living initiative, by highlighting the benefits of walking and encouraging the public to participate in the Heart Walks to improve their heart health," said Donna Arnett, Ph. D., American Heart Association President. "In 2012, more than 1.2 million people across the nation put on their walking shoes at our Heart Walks, and subsequently raised more than 100 million dollars, which goes directly to fund the mission.  We look forward to continuing to work with Jenny Craig to get Americans healthier."

Starting in the New Year, Jenny Craig will continue to support the My Heart. My Life.™ healthy living initiative and expand on its participation in the Heart Walks by encouraging more Americans to participate in the American Heart Association's National Walking Day (April 3, 2013). On this day, people are encouraged to wear sneakers to work and take at least 30 minutes out of their day to get up and walk in hopes of helping them make a healthy habit of walking several times a week to manage a healthier weight.  

The brand will also build on its creative campaign by highlighting real successes among its clients through various marketing channels throughout the year. Jennifer Torrance, 41, wife and mother of five, lost 22 lbs.* on the program, and is currently featured in a national Jenny Craig commercial. 

Torrance found that Jenny Craig provided a guideline for portion control, and taught her how to cook healthier meals for her family. "My consultant Susan taught me that I could lose weight and satisfy my appetite by filling my plate with vegetables, fruit, whole grains and lean protein," said Torrance. "When I make fajitas, we load up on the veggies (bring on the bell peppers!). My kids now eat vegetables. Carrots or strawberries are now the favored snack by my kids instead of potato chips," continued Torrance. "Because we are all eating the same, healthy foods, I'm no longer a short-order cook who makes separate meals for the adults and the children. I not only save time in the kitchen, but I also save on my monthly food budget and we've all made a family commitment to stay active in fun ways."

"We will continue to fight the growing obesity epidemic and the weight-related diseases that go along with it, and are committed to enacting change through realistic means," said Dana Fiser, Global CEO of Jenny Craig. "Now, going into the New Year, we are offering clients more opportunities for Jenny Craig to fit into their daily lives. From hitting the pavement at the Heart Walks, to teaching better eating behaviors and encouraging activity as a daily habit, we hope to inspire more people to reduce their risk for heart disease and live a healthier life."            

The brand hopes to shed light on the health benefits from losing weight.  In fact, Jenny Craig clients lose three times more weight than dieting on their own**.  In 2010, an independent two-year clinical trial was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that showed that participants, on average, lost 10% of their body weight in the first year. Ultimately, 92% of participants stuck with the Jenny Craig program for two years. Participants also saw improvements in blood cholesterol levels and cardiopulmonary fitness, as well an overall improvement in quality of life. Those results demonstrate how Jenny Craig's tools, education and personalized counseling provided to each client help them to not only stayed with the program and realize meaningful weight loss, but help them achieve a variety of health benefits.

For free walking plans and more information about Jenny Craig, please visit www.jennycraig.com. Follow Jenny Craig on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jennycraig
And Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennycraig

*Clients following our program, on average, lose 1-2 pounds per week.
**Rock CL, Flatt SW, Karanja N, et al. JAMA. 2010;304(16):1803-1811

My Heart. My Life. TM American Heart Association.

About Jenny Craig
Jenny Craig's program is designed to help you manage your weight by creating a healthy relationship with food, building a fun, active lifestyle and developing a balanced approach to living.  Our mantra is:  Eat Well.  Move More.  Live Life.

Our model is like no other weight loss company out there.  Jenny provides a weekly personal consultation that is tailored to you.  We teach portion control, provide motivational techniques for stressful situations like social gatherings and dining out, and provide fun ways to incorporate activity in a daily basis and frankly, having that person in your corner to champion your successes each week.  Jenny's nutritionists work with food scientists to create more than 80 delicious Jenny's Cuisine™ menu items. Jenny's program is available in-centre and our at-home program, Jenny At Home for easy access, whenever, wherever! 

Jenny Craig, based in Carlsbad, CA, is one of the world's largest weight management companies, with more than 700 company-owned and franchised centres in the United States, France, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico. Jenny Craig has more than 3,500 employees and will celebrate their 30th Anniversary in 2013!

About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America's No. 1 and No. 4 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country.

SOURCE Jenny Craig