The Obesity Society Awards 2011 Nutrisystem Research Grant to Dr. Heather Vincent for Study of Weight Loss Prior to Knee Replacement Surgery

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nutrisystem, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRI), the leading home delivery weight loss program, in conjunction with The Obesity Society, congratulates Heather K. Vincent, PhD, the 2011 awardee of the $25,000 Nutrisystem Grant in Obesity Research.

Dr. Vincent, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Florida and Director of the University's Sports Performance Center and Human Performance Laboratory, was chosen by The Obesity Society's Scientific Review Committee as the grant recipient based on her proposal, "Hypocaloric Diet Prior to Total Knee Replacement in the Obese Patient."

"Dr. Vincent's grant proposal topic is a reminder that obesity is contributing to multiple common debilitating and costly health conditions," said Bruce Daggy, PhD, Vice President of Research and Development at Nutrisystem. "Nutrisystem is pleased to work with the Obesity Society, the leading organization for obesity research, to provide this grant opportunity to its members."

Nutrisystem partnered with The Obesity Society to offer this research grant and will continue to partner again with them in 2012. Through this partnership, Nutrisystem invites proposals to fund randomized controlled trials of the Nutrisystem® program(s). Potential areas of study include but are not limited to, the following:

1. Effects of weight loss using a Nutrisystem® program on disease risk or management
2. Effects of weight loss using the Nutrisystem® D® program on diabetes or pre-diabetes
3. Role of Nutrisystem® portion-controlled foods as weight maintenance aids

Last year's grant winner, Kelly H. Webber, PhD, RD, LD, along with co-investigator, Stephanie A. Rose, MD, presented their study at the 29th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Obesity Society in Orlando this past week. Their abstract titled, "An Internet-Based Behavioral Weight Loss Intervention with or without Commercially Available Portion-Controlled Foods: A Pilot Study," reported improvements in risk factors for metabolic disease when Nutrisystem was added to an online weight loss support program.  

"The alliance between Nutrisystem and The Obesity Society in providing these research grants is driven by our common interest in addressing the cause of so many health issues in this country – namely, the obesity epidemic," said Joe Redling Chairman and CEO at Nutrisystem. "With research like Dr. Vincent's and Dr. Webber's, we hope to make great strides in creating a healthier society."

Beyond this grant opportunity selected by the Obesity Society, Nutrisystem supports additional research opportunities with funding and/or provision of structured meal programs.  For further information, visit www.nutrisystem.com/hcp, or contact [email protected].

About Nutrisystem, Inc.

Nutrisystem, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRI) is the number one home delivery weight-loss company. Nutrisystem® products are sold direct to the consumer through nutrisystem.com, by phone, and at select retailers, with convenient home delivery. The Company offers proven nutritionally balanced weight loss programs designed for women, men, and seniors, as well as the Nutrisystem® D® program, specifically designed to help people with type 2 diabetes who want to lose weight and manage their diabetes. The Nutrisystem® program is based on nearly 40 years of nutrition research and the science of the low glycemic index, and offers a variety of great tasting, satisfying, good carbohydrate meals that are designed to be heart healthy. The program was named the "Least Expensive Home Delivery Program" by CBS Money Watch in January 2011. The program has no membership fees and provides weight management support and counseling by trained weight-loss coaches and online and mobile weight management tools free of charge. Nutrisystem proudly supports the American Diabetes Association in its movement to Stop Diabetes™, as well as to help in increasing awareness of the correlation between weight loss and improvements in diabetes control. For more information or to become a customer, visit http://www.nutrisystem.com or call 1-800-891-3215. For the healthcare professional, please visit http://www.nutrisystem.com/hcp . Follow Nutrisystem on Twitter @nutrisystem and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/nutrisystem.

SOURCE Nutrisystem, Inc.