HealthiNation Debuts TV, Web Series

Vegetablesand-Fruits

Knowing when to eat certain foods, such as carbohydrates, can serve as a dietary supplement to reduce weight. The carbs might cause weight gain when eaten just before bedtime, but provide fuel for the body during an early evening workout. Such knowledge helps advertisers more accurately schedule paid-search and display ads. It also underscores a series of TV and Web programming that provides information on basic nutrition that HealthiNation plans to introduce Tuesday.

The HealthiNation Color Your Plate Facebook campaign runs through April 15. People can log on to get tips on healthy eating, test their knowledge about vegetables and fruits and have a chance to win more than twenty prizes including an iPad 2.

The TV and Web series will focus on tools and tips to help consumers make healthier choices in their daily lives. Previously, the HealthiNation content streamed into 32 million homes via cable operators or online at sites like Microsoft, Yahoo, and U.S. News and World Report, focused on health information around disease and conditions. The Web content reaches about 40 million unique users.

The new initiative for both TV and Web adds content on wellness that speaks to preventive measures surrounding weight loss, healthy eating and parenting. Brands will have an option to add a 45-second health tip or pre- and post-roll ads. The biggest issue stalling brands from adding ads to video has been a lack of quality content and knowledge around specific wellness topics, according HealthiNation CEO Raj Amin. "Most Americans don't know the type of food to eat and how often or when to eat them," he says.

To prove it, HealthiNation commissioned research through ORC International in February revealing that Americans have an overly optimistic view of their own nutritional well-being. The survey found that 52% of adults believe they are doing all they can to achieve a balanced nutritional diet, yet 76% don't get the minimum daily amount of fruits and vegetables as recommended by the USDA.

The study, which attempts to identify whether people understand the basics of nutritional guidelines, looks at what drives consumers' food choices in a restaurant. When asked whether advertising plays a role, Amin says "partially" -- but that does not emerge specifically in the survey data. Advertisers might want to know that about two-thirds of adults take nutritional supplements. He concluded that perhaps consumers believe they are "overly susceptible to advertising" and they know they need to make better food choices.

Starting today, HealthiNation will debut four new wellness shows: Essentials, Simple Smoothies, Kitchen Crashers, and Babyhood Basics.

The Essentials segment serves up insights on vitamins, nutrients and compounds contained in the foods consumed daily, such as carbohydrates, chocolate, coffee, fats, fish, protein, salts, soy, vitamin D and water. The Simple Smoothies series provides hints on what type to drink when trying to lose weight or fuel the body.

In Kitchen Crashers, a reality HealthiNation show, nutritionists crash the junk food party and show real families how to incorporate healthier food into their lives. And in Babyhood Basics, the focus turns to infants, and experts talk about challenges for feeding, products for new moms, and emotional support.

 

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