McNeil Nutritionals helping Americans enter a healthier 2006

04/01/06 As we enter the New Year, many Americans are considering, yet again, another resolution to be healthier in 2006. In fact, according to the SPLENDA® Brand New Year's Resolution Survey, nearly two-thirds (63%) of Americans make a New Year's resolution each year, and living a healthier lifestyle by either increasing exercise or losing weight is the most common resolution that people make. However, as survey results show, even the best resolutions are difficult to keep, and 44% of adults admitted that they only keep their New Year's resolution at the most for one month.

In an effort to help consumers who want to keep their healthy resolutions well into the new year, McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, the makers of SPLENDA® Brand Products, has developed simple everyday tips for living a healthier lifestyle in 2006 -- one small step at a time.

These small, achievable steps can help to reduce calories without making a significant change in habits or diet, thus making it part of one's everyday way of life:

- Read labels at the grocery store to know the calorie content you buy
- Reduce your portion sizes of foods and beverages.  Sweet beverages, main meals and even side dishes can also be big contributors to excess calorie intake -- so take smaller portions to achieve that calorie in-calorie out balance.
- Get more physical activity -- any kind, every day
- Use no or low calorie sweeteners, such as SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, when sweetening foods or beverages or when cooking and baking from scratch
- Beware of the calories and added sugars in sodas, juice drinks, sauces, salad dressings and marinades
- Choose diet or reduced calorie/low-sugar versions of your favorite foods, such as sodas, ice creams and other sweet foods
- Minimize your intake of high-fat, high-calorie foods

One of the easiest steps towards reducing sugar and calories in the New Year is to cut down on added sugars in beverages. According to the SPLENDA® Brand New Year's Resolution Survey, nearly half of Americans (47%) sweeten their coffee or tea on a daily basis. For those who use sugar as their primary sweetener, these daily teaspoons can quickly add up to a lot of extra sugar calories. To help consumers better understand the dietary impact of sugars in their diet, an online calculator that highlights how quickly one's sugar intake can "add up" is now available at http://www.SPLENDA.com.

In addition, just in time for the New Year, Dunkin' Donuts® has introduced its new Latte Lite -- a reduced-calorie menu addition made with espresso, skim milk and SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener.

Other 2006 SPLENDA® Brand initiatives that make keeping New Year's Resolutions more achievable include a comprehensive national gym education program about how easily "small steps" can be incorporated into a healthier, overall lifestyle; a direct mail campaign about the value of lowering one's total sugar intake, complete with coupons and recipes for SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, a significant online awareness campaign, and a public relations program that highlights the big benefits of making those small steps.

SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener is made from sugar so it tastes like sugar and consumers have quickly adopted this SPLENDA® product as their no calorie sweetener of choice. Last year, it became the nation's #1 selling branded sweetener in retail outlets. SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener is available in granular form in a 9.7 oz. Baker's Bag, equivalent in sweetness to 5 lbs. of sugar, which is ideal for cooking and baking, as well as 1- and 2-lb. sweetness equivalent boxes, and in packets.

SPLENDA® Brand Products are marketed by McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, a Johnson & Johnson company. SPLENDA® Brand Sweetener is used in more than 4,000 products of major food brands worldwide.

McNeil Nutritionals, LLC is a global marketer of innovative nutritional products. The company's mission is to give people the ability to actively manage their own health. McNeil Nutritionals markets SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, SPLENDA® Sugar Blend for Baking, SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend, VIACTIV® Calcium Soft Chews, VIACTIV® Multi-Vitamin Soft Chews, LACTAID® Milk and Dietary Supplements, and BENECOL® Spreads. McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, is headquartered in Fort Washington, PA.

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