Putting on a vest that weighs between 20 and 30 pounds is probably not the first thing journalists want to do at 9:30 in the morning, but plenty of them started yesterday that way at the Adrienne Landau Studio. Roughly 30 members of the media from health and beauty magazines and Web sites gathered to learn about the State Farm Insurance-sponsored 50 Million Pound Challenge. The event also marked the millionth person to sign up for the free program, a Web-based resource of healthy eating and living strategies.
Pam El, State Farm's marketing vice president, who lost 70 pounds using the Challenge's tools, said reaching the milestone of one million users offered the perfect opportunity to spread the word about the initiative. "We want to tell the rest of America about the free weight loss program we offer," she said. "We're trying to get all of America to think about health."
To illustrate the importance of the initiative, attending reporters could don the heavy vest to experience carrying extra weight around and, if they chose, walk up and down a set of three stairs to feel the drag of additional pounds. Further representations of the costs—both financial and emotional—of being overweight included mannequin displays of regular and plus-sized garments and the premium one pays to buy the larger items, as well as a set of airplane seats that highlighted how one participant was forced to buy an extra seat to accommodate his size.
Guests also received a tour of the program's Web site from staffers, who reviewed the many tools offered free to participants, including meal plans and shopping lists, journals, opportunities to form and join support networks, and weight and exercise trackers. If hunger struck, a buffet of healthy options such as yogurt and granola and egg white and turkey bacon breakfast burritos stood nearby.
The event concluded with an introductory video showcasing the 50 Million Pound Challenge, which launched in Washington in April 2007, and brief remarks from spokesperson Dr. Ian Smith, author of The Fat Smash Diet and the diet expert on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club. Smith also brought out three members of the initiative to share their success stories with the assembled journalists.
