• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, December 3, 2007

Drawing on Americans' obsessive interest in all things health-related, major magazine brands are striking wide-ranging deals with health publishers, allowing them to use their content in print and online.

The latest brings video content from HealthiNation to the Web site of U.S. News & World Report, available at health.usnews.com; HealthiNation's video content, covering a variety of diseases and conditions as well as preventive and lifestyle advice, is distributed to a network of Web sites and cable video-on-demand services.

According to the publishers, the content will be integrated into a variety of U.S. News content categories, including its increasingly popular listing of the nation's "Best Hospitals."

In October, The New York Times teamed with A.D.A.M., a company that maintains an online compendium of information on health conditions, treatments and insurance, among other topics. A.D.A.M. also publicizes breaking news about health-care issues, such as new treatments or diagnostic options.

To deliver the new service, the Times site is launching a new section with news and analysis on health-related topics, including the Times Health Guide, with an index of over 3,000 topics covered by A.D.A.M.

In mid-September, Hearst bought RealAge.com, a site that engages consumers with the promise of a quiz that determines their "real age," based on various health and lifestyle factors. And in June, Meredith Corporation bought Healia.com, a consumer-health search engine. Meredith President Jack Griffin explained that the health "vertical search" reference site complements the personal health coverage in Meredith's biggest brands, like Parents and Ladies' Home Journal. Meredith is integrating Healia's search technology into its various magazine Web sites.