• January 5, 2009

Yum Brands restaurants--Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver's and A&W--are offering consumers a free month-long trial membership for a new wellness/fitness training tool on their Web sites.

The eFIT4Me tool, created by fitness experts, offers customized exercise programs, identifies eating patterns, recommends nutritional habits and includes motivational and goal tracking tools that evolve as members update their progress. At the end of the trial period, consumers who wish to continue the program pay $5.99 per month (billed as a 50% discount).

The offer is tied in with Yum's health and wellness "Keep It Balanced" initiative, which launched last October with an announcement that its U.S. divisions would become the first national restaurant chains to begin voluntarily placing product calorie information on their respective menu boards in company-owned restaurants nationwide (beginning in 2008 and completed by Jan. 1, 2011). Yum's corporate messaging is stressing that each of its restaurant chains offers "lower-calorie, better for you" menu options.

Yum is also partnering with University of Louisville's men's basketball Coach Rick Pitino, who will help promote physical activity by participating in a public service announcement and monthly online exercise tips featured on Yum's Keep It Balanced site (keepitbalanced.com).--Karlene Lukovitz